Dressing Up Like Indians
JUST DON'T DO IT
We will say this flatly - please do not dress yourself or your kids up like 'Indians'. Please. Although it should not be necessary for us to have to explain why this is a no-no, we will elaborate briefly....
An African American friend once shared with us that on several occasions on Halloween night he came to his door to find a white child who was dressed up like a 'black' person, complete with painted face and fake Afro. He was not upset with the child, but did say he thought the parents needed a swift kick in the rear! Native People also have endured countless cute little kids dressed up like 'Indians' by their folks. There are many problems with this. One big problem is that it trivializes the American Indian race. Our traditional regalia is much more than clothing. It is a sacred and personal spiritual expression of our most holy ways. When we paint our face a certain way, wear eagle feathers and design our incredibly complex patterns of bead, quill, leather, shell and so on, these are all very holy and sacred interpretations of our spirituality. To dress an innocent child in silly colored chicken feathers, a brown paper sack and paint their face with mock 'Indian' designs is an insult to the sacred spiritual expressions of American Indian people. That having been said, it is important to say that no one should ever 'dress up' like an 'Indian', an 'Asian', an 'African', or any other race. It is simple common sense. To do this is to make a game of somebody's ethnicity, to trivialize a race for the sake of 'fun'. (By the way, a 'pilgrim' is not a race) So, it is our hope that people will learn that it is insensitive and just plain morally wrong to dress up like someone's race. May we all learn to be considerate of others.
We will say this flatly - please do not dress yourself or your kids up like 'Indians'. Please. Although it should not be necessary for us to have to explain why this is a no-no, we will elaborate briefly....
An African American friend once shared with us that on several occasions on Halloween night he came to his door to find a white child who was dressed up like a 'black' person, complete with painted face and fake Afro. He was not upset with the child, but did say he thought the parents needed a swift kick in the rear! Native People also have endured countless cute little kids dressed up like 'Indians' by their folks. There are many problems with this. One big problem is that it trivializes the American Indian race. Our traditional regalia is much more than clothing. It is a sacred and personal spiritual expression of our most holy ways. When we paint our face a certain way, wear eagle feathers and design our incredibly complex patterns of bead, quill, leather, shell and so on, these are all very holy and sacred interpretations of our spirituality. To dress an innocent child in silly colored chicken feathers, a brown paper sack and paint their face with mock 'Indian' designs is an insult to the sacred spiritual expressions of American Indian people. That having been said, it is important to say that no one should ever 'dress up' like an 'Indian', an 'Asian', an 'African', or any other race. It is simple common sense. To do this is to make a game of somebody's ethnicity, to trivialize a race for the sake of 'fun'. (By the way, a 'pilgrim' is not a race) So, it is our hope that people will learn that it is insensitive and just plain morally wrong to dress up like someone's race. May we all learn to be considerate of others.