“Please avoid contact with these dangerous materials,” read warning labels in a store in the town of Regina, Canada.
The labels were not emblazoned on faulty products made with hazardous chemicals or radioactive material, but rather on a set of Halloween costumes.
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The Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism and Colonialism No More visited the Spirit Halloween store to label offensive costumes with titles such as “Reservation Royalty,” “Native American Princess,” and “Pocahottie.” Their argument is that the costumes promote the “sexualization of Indigenous women and peoples.”
Robyn Pitawanakwat of Colonialism No More said in a statement that they want “all children to enjoy Halloween and not be bombarded by these harmful images”, adding that there’s “nothing fun” about costumes that riff off of cultural stereotypes.
“As an Indigenous woman, early childhood educator and mother of three Indigenous children, I know that it is well documented that these types of images are harmful to children and society at large,” Pitawanakwat said, as reported by The Huffington Post.
The activist groups shared a letter with the store’s management, calling them disrespectful in the wake of the much-awaited national inquiry into Canada’s murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls. As such, each label mentioned the inquiry and provided a link for shoppers to find out more information.
“As part of a public service, we have marked all the items in your store that rely on racist and stereotyped understandings of Indigenous peoples,” the letter reads. “It takes everyone in Canada to fight against sexualized violence. That starts with outfits of this nature.”
All of the warning labels, however, were removed by the company the next day.
The groups sprung to action after Saskatoon-based activist Zoey Roy called for a nation-wide boycott of Spirit Halloween stores a couple of weeks ago, for its large stock of Native American costumes.
CBC reported that a Saskatoon store removed the costumes following Roy’s complaint, but according to Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism’s Chris Kortright , the costumes were back on the shelves.
“One day after they had told the media they had taken down the costumes in Saskatoon, they put the costumes back up,” Kortright told The Huffington Post Canada.
The labels also follow a petition by an Ontario woman calling on Spirit Halloween stores to pull their “derogatory” products, while a #IAmNotACostume campaign seeks to call on shoppers to be more cognizant of their Halloween costume ideas.
But the company isn’t backing down, saying they will not take the costumes off the market.
“We always strive to present our costumes in a responsible and respectful manner. While we respect the opinion of those who are opposed to the sale of any cultural or historical costumes, we are proud of our costume selection for men, women, and children,” spokesperson Lisa Barr told CBC.
To Kortright, the company’s statement is “ridiculous.”
“When the joke is at the expense of already marginalized and dispossessed people, it just furthers a culture that alienates people,” he said. “It hurts people. It actually perpetuates hurt.”