If you’re thinking of being “Sexy Pocahontas” or a “Pocahottie” for Halloween, ask yourself this: Would you be comfortable dressing up as another marginalized group that’s survived genocide and systemic oppression? Did you know that, in the real story, Pocahontas was around 11 years old when John Smith - a man then in his late 20s - decided to make her his? And did you know that when you dress like a “PocaHottie,” you hypersexualize a young girl who was repeatedly violated by a man almost 20 years older than she was?įurther, did you know that today, each year, untold numbers of Native women are assaulted, murdered, and disappeared at the hands of men who view our women as nothing but sexual flotsam? Did you know that, in many parts of the country, a non-Native who assaults women and children on a reservation cannot be prosecuted once they’re off the reservation? It wasn’t until the Violence Against Women Act of 2013 that Tribes could exercise their sovereignty to prosecute abusers in courts - and that act could expire soon. It is the endorsement of propagation of disenfranchisement and violence.
Reducing a race of people who experience marginalization and oppression daily to a feathered head-dress or a little princess is more than disrespectful. It encourages others to view us a caricature, as less than, as objects. When you decide to use a bastardization of my culture as your Halloween costume, it tells everyone what you think of people like me. From feathers, to alcoholism, to getting things for free, to possessing “secret wisdom,” I’ve heard it all. On the other hand, when I am recognized as Native, people read into every stereotype possible.
Despite the structural challenges we face daily to succeed in a nation often hostile to our very existence, these challenges are ignored by the dominant culture. On one hand, the voices of Native Americans are ignored by most people in our society. My costume for 365 days of the year, which I did not choose, and can’t take off, nor do I want to be anything else but Native, is somewhere between an invisible woman and a Rorschach ink-blot - I'm either not seen at all, or my identity is projected onto me by those who do not and cannot know me. It can also say a lot about what you think of me. When called on any offense, the response is typically, “It is just a costume - why are you so offended?” My next question is, “Is it really just a costume?” In many ways, the Halloween costume you wear says a lot.
Like in our dreams, Halloween is the one time a year people can act out their true desires unchallenged by convention, ethics, or morality. Halloween is coming, and so are the costumes. To learn more about her work, please visit.
WOMENS POCAHONTAS COSTUME SERIES
In her work with Seeding Sovereignty, Daniel hosts the webinar series Indigi-Chats and brings awareness to the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. You'll be ready to sing Just Around the Riverbend when you wear this official costume.In this op-ed, Jordan Marie Daniel, Kul Wicasa Lakota, co-director of Seeding Sovereignty’s political engagement program Rising ReSisters, discusses the ramifications of appropriating Native identities for a Halloween costume, with particular emphasis on hyper-sexualizing Indigenous women. It includes the beautiful turquoise colored necklace like Pocahontas wears in the film. It features the asymmetrical design of the dress that the animators came up with for the film. So if you want to be a Disney princess this year try this Women's Deluxe Pocahontas Costume. And we'll take it because of the beautiful artwork completed by the Disney animators.
They live in the earth, water, sky if you listen they will guide you." Those are words to live by. And there are more memorable characters, too, like wise old Grandmother Willow with her guiding words like "all around you are spirits, child. The classic music, the adorable Meeko the raccoon, and Flit the ruby-throated hummingbird. Finally, we got the animated film Pocahontas. And in 1995 one finally took place in the United States. Movies that take place in France, under the sea (by Denmark), Baghdad, Germany.