DRESSING as the victims of an event in which approximately 400,000 people died most likely would not help you make friends on Halloween. On the contrary, it would probably incite disgust and offense in your colleagues and friends. The genocide of nearly an entire nation is not a joke, and most certainly not an appropriate inspiration for a Halloween costume. If the victims of a genocide are less well-known and recognized, however, does that deem their attire acceptable for a theme party? The American Indian Student Union here at the University would like to think your answer would still be "no."
On the Friday of Halloween weekend, a University fraternity hosted a "Cowboys and Indians" date function at its house, blatantly disregarding requests from the Inter-Fraternity Council and the Minority Rights Coalition to not host parties with said theme. This request to put a moratorium on American Indian themes was first suggested by the IFC in 2009. It came in response to a party by the same frat that hosted this past week's event in which attendees painted their faces red and acted out the part of scalping other party guests. The IFC president at the time contacted the AISU via email to inform us of the event and to apologize if we took offense, citing a "a gap in understanding about this issue." He also expressed his desire "to do everything possible to rectify this situation."
Multiple meetings and emails between the MRC, the IFC, the delinquent fraternity's representatives, the AISU and Dean of Students Allen Groves ensued, during which the fraternity recognized the offensiveness of the events and expressed its deepest regrets for what occurred. In a follow up in 2010, the IFC reiterated to the presidents of its member organizations that themes and costumes like this are not part of the image the IFC and the University wish to project.
Although we at the AISU are disappointed in the fraternity's choice to host a party with the same theme two years after its last one drew such outrage, we do not wish to dwell on the debate about whether or not the events of the 2009 party were inappropriate or whether it is necessary to strictly enforce the prevention of all American Indian-themed parties. In fact, we do not even consider the theme "Cowboys and Indians" inherently racist. But there is a line that is crossed when the party leads to the degradation of American Indians as a people and culture. That line was crossed by the tasteless actions of party guests two years ago, and it was crossed again by the actions of individuals at the party on Friday.
We were told from a source who wishes to remain anonymous that at Friday's party "someone definitely went as the Trail of Tears." For those readers hazy on the details of the Trail of Tears, it was a forced relocation of about 100,000 Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Indians. The members of these tribes were made to walk thousands of miles from their homes east of the Mississippi River and restart their lives in present-day Oklahoma. Approximately 4,000 of the 15,000 Cherokee Indians forced to relocate died on the journey, which is nearly equivalent to the ratio of Jews that died in Auschwitz. The dehumanized and decimated tribes were never paid the $5 million for the land officially promised by the U.S. government.
This subjugation of one American Indian Nation is probably the most publicly known, and yet it accounts for only about .0017 percent of the Native American genocide. More than 12 million American Indians were killed in the Native American genocide, which is comparable to the number of deaths attributed to the Holocaust. We at the AISU do not wish to blame anyone for their actions concerning the portrayal of American Indians at theme parties or during Halloween, and acknowledge that even this "Trail of Tears" costume idea probably did not arise from malicious intent. It most likely arose from ignorance concerning the history of Native Americans and the genocide of nearly our entire race and culture.
This dark American past has been largely obscured in popular culture and is clearly still in the shadows here at the University. We hope to use this ill-conceived costume party as a launching point for encouraging students to respect a nearly forgotten race of people. We hope that readers understand that our only desire is to educate the University population of Native American history, in the hopes that in the future each individual will be able to form his own opinions about what actions cross the line into racism.
Even more importantly, we wish to use this as a reminder that American Indians still exist. We are still alive, and you can find us throughout the United States - on reservations, in cities, suburbs and in your classrooms. We fight daily to maintain our heritage and culture, and all we ask for is recognition of a past that we struggle to put behind us every day.
Katelyn Krause is the communications and outreach chair for the American Indian Student Union.
Read More
CARTER: U.Va. Health owes clarity to transplant patients
By Nathaniel Carter | 3 days agoUnfortunately, this negative press is fully the fault of U.Va. Health — it failed to address significant stakeholder concerns when crafting its justification.
EDITORIAL: Upholding medical amnesty is a collective effort
By Editorial Board | 4 days agoUniversity leadership, Greek life organizations and students themselves must recommit to the safety provided by an effective and knowledgeable use of medical amnesty.
KURTZWEIL: Dockworkers’ unions cannot avoid the threat of automation
By Paul Kurtzweil | 5 days agoInstead of continuing to demand decreased automation, the union should work with the legislature in the hopes of driving investment into the reorganization of the current workforce.
