Why your one day as a 'sexy Indian maiden' is dehumanizing

Sitting down at a sports bar on Saturday, I watched as the Florida State Seminole’s mascot galloped to centre field with a flaming spear in full regalia. Then the camera cut to a Clemson Tigers football player mock shooting an arrow with a bow, a sellout crowd performs the tomahawk chop, and my phone buzzes with notifications from racist and sexist online trolls.

That moment of disdain was just the latest of a Halloween weekend filled campaigning against offensive “Pocahottie“ and “Indian Warrior” costumes.

This year, the Kahnawake Youth Forum (KYF) collaborated with Missing Justice /Centre for Gender Advocacy by dispatching a small group of volunteers to retailers across Montreal, encouraging them to remove the discriminatory merchandise from their shelves.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/why-your-one-day-as-a-sexy-indian-maiden-is-dehumanizing/article32592044/