How do I explain this?

September 23, 2015 3:47 PM

My 7-year-old daughter's favorite books right now are Louise Erdrich's Birchbark House novels about an Ojibwe girl named Omakayas. She wants to dress up like Omakayas for Halloween. Last year, she went as Laura Ingalls Wilder. However, I feel like it isn't okay in this day and age for a white girl to dress live a Native American for Halloween, particularly in a city where so many real Ojibwe live. Am I right? If so, why? What should I tell her? For her, this is just about adoring her favorite character.
posted by Area Man to Society & Culture (29 answers total)

I'm Native American and I wouldn't be offended, if that helps. If she's got a passion for a Native American character I think that should be celebrated. You could encourage her to look up authentic clothing and not rely on tropes, because I do find those a bit insulting.
posted by julie_of_the_jungle at 4:05 PM on September 23, 2015 [29 favorites]

I am white, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I believe the problem is if she tries to look like a generic Native American, with bronzer and such. If she dresses as a specific person by wearing specific clothes that indicate who she is, I don't see the problem.

At the costume party I was at recently there was a white, blonde girl dressed as the movie version of Pocahontas. She was in the appropriate dress, and had her hair done like the character. But that was it. I was not creeped out. She wasn't in blackface or a crappy wig, and she wasn't going for a broad "I'm a Rasta!" or "I'm Japanese!" or other cringeworthy costumes I've seen in the past.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:11 PM on September 23, 2015 [7 favorites]

You mention there are Ojibwe in your area --- maybe make it a teachable moment: any way you could maybe contact an elder or teacher from an Ojibwe cultural center who can talk to your daughter? Get advice on a correct outfit, maybe more info on what the book character's life was like.
posted by easily confused at 4:17 PM on September 23, 2015 [45 favorites]

This is a tough topic for kids, but I think that you could be safe in explaining that it's not respectful to dress up as another culture or race for Halloween. While there are certainly some costumes that are highly offensive and some that seem more benign, I think that explaining that culture is not a costume for make-believe is the best angle. And, offer an alternative, maybe she wants to dress as Andeg, Omakayas’ pet crow? That way, she's connected to her beloved character while also not getting into the fray of cultural appropriation and racism.
posted by quince at 4:18 PM on September 23, 2015 [21 favorites]

In general you can tell her what those "don't dress like my culture" posters say: it's an entire race/ethnicity/culture/etc of people, not a fun costume for playing dress up. It's up to you if you think she's old enough to have a conversation about the whitewashed depictions of PoC in the media and how hurtful it is to always see white people representing supposedly authentic portrayals of other races. There's definitely a fine balance to be found there in order to make sure she doesn't come out of the convo feeling like SHE has done something wrong or bad or upsetting in wanting to innocently dress up like her fave, though. (i have no idea how to do that, i'm not a parent so kids are tiny aliens to me. i will assume you can figure that out yourself.)
posted by poffin boffin at 4:22 PM on September 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

I agree that it's a great idea to get in touch with a local Ojibwe community representative, cultural resource monitor or outreach group. It may be really fine to dress up in a well-researched, tasteful costume that represents a specific individual character (I don't know if the character is fictional or real). It's a fine shading, but such a respectful representation isn't always the same thing as the "it's a culture, not a costume" thing, where the entire culture, as opposed to one specific, known, well-researched individual, is being reduced to a bunch of badly understood shallow tropes. Even within Native communities, there is disgreement on these points. The main things are respect (which it sounds like your daughter and you can certainly muster) and some consultation to help determine what to keep in mind and arrive at what is a respectful decision.
posted by Miko at 4:34 PM on September 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

If you happen to be in Minneapolis, you could visit Louise Erdrich's bookstore and maybe ask her. Or send a note on their contact form--I am sure they would love to hear about your daughter, and could perhaps suggest a way to go as her favorite character in a respectful way.
posted by ialwayscryatendings at 4:53 PM on September 23, 2015 [27 favorites]

I agree with your instincts. I would as another commenter says maybe introduce her to folks at the local cultural center, and somehow get the discussion around to what is appropriate and what is not.

The real point here is not about being politically correct like a good liberal etc etc, but to help facilitate true interaction and true connection with the culture she has been reading about. And having the chance to meet and learn from others is very exciting.
posted by Nevin at 4:59 PM on September 23, 2015 [3 favorites]

She should dress as the character, not as An Indian Princess or whatever.

Don't do brownface makeup, obviously.

Kids dress up as characters that they don't physically resemble all the time.

That said, one year I dressed as a Specific Historical Pirate (Anne Bonney) and everyone kept assuming I was just dressed as a pirate, in general. So it depends what your intent is here. If you're worried about what other people think of you, maybe skip it. If you're worried about exhibiting actual racist behavior or teaching your kid toxic bigoted thinking, you're fine and haters gonna hate.
posted by Sara C. at 5:24 PM on September 23, 2015 [3 favorites]

I suspect it's not worth the enormous potential drama eruption to have her dress up like the character. I wish I could dress up like Frida Kahlo because she's awesome, but I'm white and that's hoo boy not allowed ever ever ever. I don't want to offend anyone, and I would, so....

I have also never heard of this character/the books and don't know how popular they are/if anyone would get that she is dressing like a particular girl rather than some Native American in general, which is another risk.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:36 PM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

My concern with her going through with dressing up as her favorite character is that even if she does it perfectly and in the most respectful way possible it's still contributing to the idea that non-white people are objects that can be turned into costumes. Ignorant people won't understand the nuances of her not wearing a wig/brown face/etc. They'll just see a white girl in a Native outfit which may further their own desire to be a nonspecific/generic/stereotyped/exotified Indian for some holiday in the future.

I say this as someone whose mother made her the most beautiful and intricate Tiger Lily costume for Halloween many, many years ago, when I was also 7, and who has played Tiger Lily and Pocahontas and Sacajawea in community theater three times, complete with long braided wig and faux war paint on my face. I am MORTIFIED and ashamed that I didn't know it was wrong and damaging and hurtful. One of those costumes was even historically accurate! All were done with the "best of intentions" and all were still done out of ignorance. Microaggressions are insidious and as such I think it would be better if your daughter didn't dress up this year. Thank you for thinking about this.
posted by Hermione Granger at 6:04 PM on September 23, 2015 [8 favorites]

Mod note: One comment deleted. Folks, please remember AskMe isn't a debate space. Please address answers to the OP and not to other commenters, and keep it constructive. Thanks.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 6:10 PM on September 23, 2015

(Not not dress up at all, just not as this character. Sorry. That came out too extreme and I didn't realize it until now!)
posted by Hermione Granger at 6:15 PM on September 23, 2015

I think if your daughter wants to dress up as her favourite character - who happens to be Ojibwe - and you can do it in a way that visually references that character without resorting to insulting "Indian" stereotypes, it would be fine, and I agree it would be really great if you could hook up with your local Ojibwe community. I just did ten seconds of googling "traditional Ojibwe costume" and those are some amazing clothes - and not at all "Indian Princess", either.

I don't think you should worry too much about what some nebulous 'some people' might or might not think.
posted by mythical anthropomorphic amphibian at 6:19 PM on September 23, 2015 [9 favorites]

If doing it, to err on the side of avoiding trouble I would suggesting finding the most distinctive and story-specific elements/accessories that are not generic or native-looking and making those the focal point of the costume, while downplaying things that might look generic native (like clothes). The aim is that to any viewer not familiar with the character, it does not look like a native american costume, it looks like a character you are not familiar with.

Eg a crow would be key part of the outfit, and if there was a story where she had something non-generic and had an adventure with it (eg a map? I haven't read the stories) then that too, so the heart of the costume and first-impressions would be "crow+map costume" rather than "native-american clothes+hairstyle costume"

Or to explain to the girl, part of the costume is to show people that you're the specific character.
posted by anonymisc at 6:28 PM on September 23, 2015 [5 favorites]

I think if you emphasize the specific traits of the character, it could be ok. A cursory internet search about the books seems to indicate that Omakayas is good at healing among other things. Are there specific items she carries in the books? Do they mention specific clothes she wears? Could you put the name of the character somewhere on the costume? If your daughter knows a lot about the character - enough so that when asked who she is dressing up as, she can definitely say and describe, then I think it could be fine. Louise Erdrich is a very fine author (I was recommended her adult books on AskMe before!), and I doubt she would have written the main character to be a caricature.

But, generic Indian maiden would probably be in poor taste especially if you live in an area with many Ojibwe. If you know any personally (or there is a cultural/community center/public affairs person), you could ask what they think. The books seem to be about the historical conflict between the Ojibwe and the white settlers. So, if you need to explain to your daughter why the costume may be a bad idea, perhaps you could use the context from the novels themselves to explain.
posted by bluefly at 6:48 PM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

I think the costume is totally possible and should start with a conversation with your daughter about what it is she really loves about the character. Look at this pinterest, for example, or this cover for the first book. You're not going for braids and feathers and brownface; you're going for dressing up as a specific character who lived in a specific culture in a specific time period. Get her a shawl, a skirt, a pet crow and maybe some smallpox scars for a bit of FX fun. I would NOT do feathers unless there's something really important to the books, and I wouldn't do beading unless you actually buy something from an Ojibwe artist. Maybe research together about the Ojibwe so she can have a few facts to throw at confused adults. She can always carry a copy of the book with her if people don't understand what she's going for - I had to do that for a few obscure book-related costumes in my day ;)

I also love the idea of writing Louise Erdrich herself. Because really, what do I know?
posted by theweasel at 6:58 PM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

I think you're right, for the reasons you think you are. I'd tell her that at Halloween, it's customary to dress up either as something scary or as a really famous character that everyone will recognize (so you can trick them / scare them or get a treat from them. And the reason you'd get a treat from them is that they're happy to see a character they know and like [this is my spin on it for this purpose]).

If people who see her haven't read the book, and don't know that she's supposed to be Omakayas, they might think she's dressing up as a non-famous Ojibwe person in traditional dress. That's not scary, and, it might make someone who is Ojibwe feel bad, if they think that somebody who's not from their culture thinks their traditional dress is scary or "funny" or something like that. Even though she doesn't want to hurt anybody's feelings, and only wants to show how much she likes Omakayas, she might wind up hurting someone's feelings by accident.
posted by cotton dress sock at 7:02 PM on September 23, 2015 [29 favorites]

People tend to ask kids "And who are you dressed as?" I think as long she's not wearing an obvious/generic "Sexy Squaw" costume from Party City, she'll get that question and this will give her a chance to educate people. What a great learning experience for a smart and curious 7 year old.
posted by ftm at 7:57 PM on September 23, 2015 [5 favorites]

Is there a cover of the book or an illustration of the character/book that you could use in the costume somehow? Like you can stick it on a tote bag as her candy bag or somewhere obvious almost like a nametag?

That's really the best way I could think to do something like this, because unfortunately I agree that other people may not know it's a specific character and get offended.
posted by Crystalinne at 8:22 PM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

I don't understand why she's not allowed to dress up as her favorite character for Halloween? I think it will be pretty obvious she doesn't mean any disrespect without carrying around a copy of the book cover that she is celebrating somebody important to her, because this is what dressing up in costume is usually about, ESPECIALLY at eight years old.

She's not going to runaround doing a tomahawk chopping motion or otherwise behaving in a way that is demeaning to the character or Native American culture, right? Right?? Of course she won't! She loves this character and culture she has learned about through these books.

I'm sorry you have to ask this question. I pretty much left the Autry Museum of the West in tears this weekend because the US history of brutality towards Native Americans, Blacks, Chinese, and South Americans was too much to bear at some point. I liked the parts of the museum that highlighted Native American and South American ways of life in the 19th Century, especially.... but the brutality visited upon these peoples by racism and US expansion? Not at all.

Upon my recent experiences at the Autry Museum of the West, I'm thinking it would be much more callous for your daughter to dress up like a cowboy or cavalry soldier, instead of dressing up as a (fictious) cultural heroine and celebrating her experiences. I like the suggestion to visit an Ojibwe cultural center and have a more nuanced conversation with your daughter at some point about these issues, but it seems a lot of them may have been covered in the books, anyway.

I hope your daughter has an awesome Halloween dressed as someone she loves and admires.
posted by jbenben at 9:43 PM on September 23, 2015 [12 favorites]

She's 7. She's dressing up out of pure love for the character, not to mock a class of people. That's the true spirit of Halloween.
posted by Unsomnambulist at 11:20 PM on September 23, 2015 [8 favorites]

People are people. Your child seems to get that in the most basic pure way possible. She has identified with the character because of who that character is as a person. Isn't that what truly respecting each other is all about?

Would it be wrong if a child of Australian Aboriginal descent thought Albert Einstein was inspiring and wanted a costume to "be" him for the night? A native American child whose hero is Gandhi? A boy wanting to "be" Madame Curie?

Allowing a child a chance to honor their hero through a costume can be done with respect and sensitivity. Limiting their options to only those who share their race/religion/gender/etc. is just creating distinctions rather than celebrating unity.
posted by cat_link at 12:02 AM on September 24, 2015 [10 favorites]

oyate press publish books for children, written by native americans. i was looking through their reviews wondering if there was any book that your child could read that might help understand the history and so help explain why this might not be a good idea (although i am not sure how developed a 7 year old is and whether that is a something that can be understood or not).

the best i've found so far is shi-shi-etko, but even that may be for older children. they have a search box, so you might do better.

(i know little about this - the above is just from googling after an email exchange with others here).
posted by andrewcooke at 2:01 AM on September 24, 2015

Would it be wrong if a child of Australian Aboriginal descent thought Albert Einstein was inspiring and wanted a costume to "be" him for the night? A native American child whose hero is Gandhi? A boy wanting to "be" Madame Curie?

I wish I could dress up like Frida Kahlo because she's awesome, but I'm white and that's hoo boy not allowed ever ever ever.

Honestly, what bothers me (as a Latina) is NOT people dressing up as Frida Kahlo -- I actually think that would be awesome, unibrow and all. It's that I'm seeing all this generic crap full of face paint like sugar skulls and wreaths of flowers for some sort of Day of the Dead ripoff.

That's the difference besides dressing up like your favorite historical person/character and just ripping off a culture because you think it's edgy or pretty. I think your kid is safe as long as you anchor this in the specifics of the character, and not some awful Indian Maiden Party City junk. And yeah, bring the book along, why not.
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:22 AM on September 24, 2015 [7 favorites]

Based on at least one of the book covers, it looks like you might be able to do a costume of yellow dress + blue shawl, which I think will not read NATIVE AMERICAN CARICATURE to anyone. You could add in a stuffed crow and any other items that the character tends to interact with/are important to the story. I think the problem would be going out and purchasing a "Native American costume" at a Halloween costume store and using that for the character, and/or putting on lots of face paint. If she goes with her natural skin/hair color and adds on a purchased yellow sun dress plus a homemade blue shawl, I doubt many people will really know what she is, but I also think she's unlikely to offend. (You might talk to her about the fact that if you dress up as a character people do not know, you'll have a lot of explaining to do all night, but you know best whether she can/will want to handle that.)
posted by rainbowbrite at 7:00 AM on September 24, 2015 [13 favorites]

Yeah, I would steer away from trying to mimic traditional Ojibwe designs Googled up on the internet or Pinterest with no context - that's where you could very easily get into some tokenism and cultural misappropriation. You could inadvertently be choosing designs that are meant for an elder, a married woman, or a teenager, or even a man. You could be choosing designs designated for specific times of year or particular religious observances or celebrations, not to wear around the street in late October. You could choose designs from a clan or group that's totally different from the character's. Maybe worst of all, you could end up deriving some designs that "sort of look like" Ojibwe designs, but are just poorly executed shallow representations of them.

This is where some guidance from a traditional tribal representative could really be helpful, helping to contextualize the character in time and space, pinpoint what she'd actually be wearing and make appropriate decisions.
posted by Miko at 9:16 AM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

Halloween is done, the candy is gathered...what did you wind up doing for the costume?
posted by Elly Vortex at 10:43 AM on November 4, 2015 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Halloween is done, the candy is gathered...what did you wind up doing for the costume?

The issue resolved itself naturally. I was wondering what to do, thinking about whether I had the time and energy to really do this right, etc., and then my wife read her Pippi Longstocking in early October. She suddenly wanted to dress like Pippi and we went with that. If Halloween was going to happen next week, she'd either want to be Anne of Green Gables or someone from Pompeii (she likes reading about natural disasters).
posted by Area Man at 2:52 PM on February 16, 2016 [1 favorite]