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Like reconciliation, it’s a bit of a buzzword, so let me break it down into something more manageable. And for youth, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, that can plant a seed that grows into something far worse down the road. Dressing up as another cultural group diminishes that cultural group to a caricature. So, to answer “What’s the big deal?” - I can confirm that it is, in fact, a big deal. Interested in this topic? Read this mom's piece on why your kid's costume matters. Even those of us who aren't racist can still perpetuate racism by the choices we make.
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The thing is, that doesn’t make it not racist or offensive. Guilt doesn’t do anybody any good, and I don’t think people choose costumes, for themselves or their children, to be racist or offensive. What’s the big deal?įirst off: this article is not intended as a guilt trip. Halloween is fast approaching and with it, ghouls, goblins, ghosts… and Pocahontas. But this overt racism isn’t exclusive to sports. And for every team that has stopped using a racist mascot (which are almost exclusively Indigenous in nature) or changed its racist name, there are far more that have not (see the NFL’s Washington football team, a name I refuse to write). Recently, Cleveland stopped putting Chief Wahoo onto the field with its players. For those who aren’t aware, Chief Wahoo is Cleveland’s red-faced, toothy, feathered, black-haired mascot. The hat was turned backwards, and Chief Wahoo was staring me right in the face. After the game, I found myself walking behind a young man wearing a Cleveland Indians cap. "Halloween is fast approaching and with it, ghouls, goblins, ghosts… and Pocahontas." I felt “less than” because these representations made me feel devalued. For a Cree youth, it shaped my self-perception. They perpetuated harmful stereotypes which served to dehumanize Indigenous people and led to racist attitudes and behaviours. Representations of Indigenous people - in comics, movies, television, books, the news - were problematic. I think it’s a fair statement to say that things were different then.