Open Letter to the PocaHotties and Indian Warriors this Halloween

Dear Person that decided to dress up as an Indian for Halloween,

I was going to write you an eloquent and well-reasoned post today about all the reasons why it's not ok to dress up as a Native person for Halloween--talk about the history of "playing Indian" in our country, point to the dangers of stereotyping and placing of Native peoples as mythical, historical creatures, give you some articles to read, hope that I could change your mind by dazzling you with my wit and reason--but I can't. I can't, because I know you won't listen, and I'm getting so tired of trying to get through to you.


I just read the comments on this post at Bitch Magazine, a conversation replicated all over the internet when people of color are trying to make a plea to not dress up as racist characters on Halloween. I felt my chest tighten and tears well up in my eyes, because even with Kjerstin's well researched and well cited post, people like you are so caught up in their own privilege, they can't see how much this affects and hurts their classmates, neighbors and friends.

I already know how our conversation would go. I'll ask you to please not dress up as a bastardized version of my culture for Halloween, and you'll reply that it's "just for fun" and I should "get over it." You'll tell me that you "weren't doing it to be offensive" and that "everyone knows real Native Americans don't dress like this." You'll say that you have a "right" to dress up as "whatever you damn well please." You'll remind me about how you're "Irish" and the "Irish we're oppressed too." Or you'll say you're "German", and you "don't get offended by people in Lederhosen."

But you don't understand what it feels like to be me. I am a Native person. You are (most likely) a white person. You walk through life everyday never having the fear of someone mis-representing your people and your culture. You don't have to worry about the vast majority of your people living in poverty, struggling with alcoholism, domestic violence, hunger, and unemployment caused by 500+ years of colonialism and federal policies aimed at erasing your existence. You don't walk through life everyday feeling invisible, because the only images the public sees of you are fictionalized stereotypes that don't represent who you are at all. You don't know what it's like to care about something so deeply and know at your core that it's so wrong, and have others in positions of power dismiss you like you're some sort of over-sensitive freak.

You are in a position of power. You might not know it, but you are. Simply because of the color of your skin, you have been afforded opportunities and privilege, because our country was built on a foundation of white supremacy. That's probably a concept that's too much for you to handle right now, when all you wanted to do was dress up as a PocaHottie for Halloween, but it's true.

I am not in a position of power. Native people are not in positions of power. By dressing up as a fake Indian, you are asserting your power over us, and continuing to oppress us. That should worry you.

But don't tell me that you're oppressed too, or don't you dare come back and tell me your "great grandmother was a Cherokee Princess" and that somehow makes it ok. Do you live in a system that is actively taking your children away without just cause? Do you have to look at the TV on weekends and see sports teams with mascots named after racial slurs of your people? I doubt it. 

Last night I sat with a group of Native undergraduates to discuss their thoughts and ideas about the costume issue, and hearing the comments they face on a daily basis broke my heart. They take the time each year to send out an email called "We are not a costume" to the undergraduate student body--an email that has become known as the "whiny newsletter" to their entitled classmates. They take the time to educate and put themselves out there, only to be shot down by those that refuse to think critically about their choices.Your choices are adversely affecting their college experiences, and that's hard for me to take without a fight.

The most frustrating part to me is, there are so many other things you can dress up as for Halloween. You can be a freaking sexy scrabble board for goodness sake. But why does your fun have to come at the expense of my well-being? Is your night of drunken revelry really worth subjugating an entire group of people? I just can't understand, how after hearing, first-hand, that your choice is hurtful to another human being, you're able to continue to celebrate with your braids and plastic tomahawk.

So I know you probably didn't even read this letter, I know you've probably already bought and paid for your Indian costume, and that this weekend you'll be sucking down jungle juice from a red solo cup as your feathers wilt and warpaint runs. I know you're going to scoff at my over-sensitivity. But I'm telling you, from the bottom of my heart, that you're hurting me. And I would hope that would be enough.

Wado,

Adrienne K.

PS- I wonder if you saw these posters? Because I think they illustrate my point really well.

UPDATE 10/27: Have a look at some of the costumes I'm talking about. I think it makes my arguments a lot clearer.

Earlier:
But Why Can't I Wear a Hipster Headdress?
Nudie Neon Indians and the Sexualiztion of Indian Women
A Cowboys and Indians Party is just as bad as a Blackface Party
Paris Hilton as a Sexy Indian: The Halloween Fallout Begins (includes lots of links about the costume issue)
Mid-Week Motivation: I am not your costume

Readers, if you want to send over an "I am not a costume" picture, I'll put together a big post--power in numbers!

The Privilege of the Yay Life Tribe

 (screenshot from the Yay Life documentary trailer...not exploiting Native cultures at all, right?)

Someone posted a link to the "Yay Life Tribe" on the Native Appropriations Facebook page a couple of days ago. The "Yay Life Tribe" is the brainchild of a 20-something named Tucker, who got a spirit hood, it changed his life, and then he quit his job to devote all his time to spreading the message of loving life and positivity. The way he plans to do this is through selling Spirit Hoods, having a blog, twitter, and facebook page, and traveling around to music festivals this year where he will spread the gospel (and make a documentary while he's at it).

I spent a fair amount of time that night looking at the facebook page, clicking through fan photos, and watched the trailer to the documentary. When I was done, I shrugged, and thought "I'm all for positivity and loving life. If this is how they want to do it, whatever." I was perturbed at the use of the "tribe" idea--but I'm clearly not going to claim that American Indians are the only people who can use the word. There was also something else that really bothered me about the whole thing, but I couldn't put my finger on it until yesterday.


Yesterday afternoon, I got a comment on my Spirit Hood takedown from the founder of the "Yay Life Tribe" himself, Tucker Gumber:

You guys are amazing. You are taking a product that actually adds happiness to the world and make it come off as some jab at native americans. Spirithoods have changed my life and inspired me to start a movement to get the world to realize that being happy is a decision (one that it seems like many of you on here need to make). Just google Yay Life Tribe to find our Trailer to the documentary we are making. You should also get used to seeing Spirithoods.... this is only the beginning.

I would be honored if you would join our tribe.

Tucker, Chief Of The Yay Life Tribe

I really had to take a step back here, and read the message twice. It's rare these days, when I get constant emails of horrible outright appropriations and stereotypes, that I get a burn of outright rage in my chest. For some reason, this did it.

The bottom line is, The Yay Life Tribe, and Tucker's message, reek of privilege and self-promotion.

Unfortunately, I can't conquer the complexities of power and privilege in this post. What I can do is offer my interpretation of his words, and point out how it makes me feel.

Tucker, perhaps for the first time in his life, has felt the pinch of privilege. All of a sudden, someone tried to burst his bubble--taking something that he is intensely proud of and protective over, and told him that it exploits an entire group of people, and continues to contribute to the oppression and marginalization of Indigenous peoples. That's a lot to handle. So he reacts. He reacts by blaming me for being overly sensitive (a classic tenet of colorblind racism), that I'm "making it come off as some jab at Native Americans." He tells us that we need to "realize that being happy is a decision," and then, in closing, to "get used to seeing Spirit Hoods." He was happy in his land of protected privilege--a land where he had the ability to quit his job, cash out his 401K, and spend the summer traveling to music festivals where he will hang out with others who have the ability to shell out hundreds of dollars for a ticket, and propose that we all love each other, and that somehow will change the world. Who am I to come along and burst his happy bubble? How dare I.

First of all, honey, I didn't "make it come off as a jab at Native Americans". The darn thing is called a "Navajo Black Wolf" hood, and the founder of your beloved Spirit Hoods confirmed that he is "influenced" by Indian "culture." I didn't make that up. I'm really glad that a disembodied animal head changed your life. But for someone who is all about happiness, your message really hurt me. You dismissed my opinion, didn't listen to what I had to say, and basically wrote me off as a party pooper trying to ruin your dream. The tone of saccharine laced with malice is what gets me the most. A "get used to it" threat in closing does not paint you as a peace-loving happy freak.

And then, THEN, you have the audacity to list yourself as the "chief" of your "tribe". I'm sorry. Chiefs of our communities are respected, honored, revered figures--leaders who serve the people, not 25 year olds who run around with stuffed animals on their heads.

The thing is, I honestly don't give a flying eff about your campaign to change the world one drunk music festival goer at a time. But there is absolutely no reason to bring Native cultures into this. Celebrate loving life, talk about how awesome you are for giving away your iphone, promote the hell out of your documentary, paint yourself as a martyr for the cause, gain some of the fame you clearly desire in the process, but why do you have to call yourself a "tribe"? Why do you have to paint yourself up and wear a breastplate? Just wear the animal on your head. Leave it at that. There is nothing that inherently screams cultural appropriation about "Spirit Hoods"--the cultural appropriative and exploitative aspects have all been added on after the fact--and that's what bothers me.

So no, I won't be a member of your "tribe." Sorry. #yaylife?