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http://www.presspubs.com/articles/2007/11/13/columns/doc4739b5d4c23c2636753382.txt
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I want to be the Indian
The Intern

Nov 13, 2007 - 08:34:36 CST.

by Jennifer Fairbanks
Press Intern




Within the past few weeks, several private colleges here in Minnesota have been under investigation for racial offenses by students. The most recent one happened to be at the college I attend.

At Hamline University, six football players have been suspended from the team for wearing blackface Halloween costumes, which included black face paint and tribal outfits. Pictures of their costumes were posted on Facebook.com and quickly created a firestorm of accusations on campus. University officials have pledged to proceed with an investigation and judicial proceedings.

Although I agree with the offensiveness of the Halloween costumes still in question, I can't help but feel that their costumes would have gone unnoticed if they were dressed up as American Indian warriors or had their faces painted brown (or red) and wore feathers in their hair.

As a kid, I never stopped to think about the purpose of Halloween or the meaning of my costumes. I just knew that candy was involved and each year I'd get to dress up as a different animal or fairy tale character. Kids usually don't stop to think about the stereotypes their costumes are conveying. I would hope that it would be their parents' job to make sure they're not offending anyone.

In light of the recent events at Hamline, I have come to question the apparent acceptance of some ethnic stereotypical costumes, and not others.



When doing a Web search on Google about Native American- style costumes, I came across a massive amount of "fun," "cheap" and "sexy" costumes that reflect the stereotypical views of the ethnic regalia. One online costume retailer, Facemakers Inc., sells Indian costumes with names such as Dave the Brave and Wigwam Willie.

I was able to find a small number of sites that comment about the political incorrectness, but found there are few sites that offer an American Indian standpoint on the costumes.

Although the official Web site of the American Indian Movement (AIM) offers no opinion on the matter of Halloween costumes, it is a rigorous protester against "Indian" mascots in sports and the media. Teams such as the Washington Redskins and its mascots have been under scrutiny recently about the offenses they may cause with the racial stereotypes they portray.

In 2005, the American Psychological Association (APA) called for the immediate retirement of all misuses of American Indian mascots, symbols, images and personalities by teams and organizations.

While I can definitely see why there would be a move to end the racial insult brought on by these team mascots and names, I don't understand how Halloween costumes like Wigwam Willie have slipped passed the radar.




Regardless of the intent of the six football players, if the impact of black face paint can move so many people to take action, then why should American Indian "princess" and "warrior" costumes be tolerated?

Halloween is not the first, nor the last holiday on which I've seen American Indian traditional wear turned into costumes. Thanksgiving plays put on by elementary schools and classrooms often include students dressing up as American Indians.

Being American Indian, I've learned to become jaded to the sight of non-Indians playing "Indian," In third grade I myself had to don a headband, feather, and "war paint" for my class re-enactment of the first Thanksgiving. But if I was going to be a real Indian playing an Indian, I insisted to my teacher that I play one of status, Chief Massosoit. My parents weren't thrilled about it, to say the least, but they figured I just didn't understand yet.

When I was little, it never used to bother me to see places like Wal-Mart selling my culture in the form of regalia patterns, Thanksgiving decorations and Halloween costumes at its self-proclaimed low prices. Even seeing sports jerseys with a smiling red-faced Indian didn't upset me as a child. That was, of course, until I started to understand the stereotypes and racial smears that can stand behind these costumes and mascots.

I don't believe that people offended by the football players' costumes are being irrational. But I do feel that if Wal-Mart can make a little girl into an Indian princess and a boy into Dave the Brave without fearing someone is going to get offended, then something is off-balance.

Jennifer Fairbanks can be reached at news@press pubs.com.