Flip open any halloween catalogue and it isn’t hard to find an “Indian” costume or a taco bodysuit with maracas and a sombrero. To the people who wear these outfits, they are nothing more than a humorous gag. To the people and races “represented” by these costumes, however, the outfits are a gross simplification of their culture and identity.
To begin with, the costume designs are often not accurate to the traditional clothing of the people being portrayed. For example, Geisha are women from Japan who specialize in music, dance and entertainment. Their profession requires years of training, and Geisha do not act as courtesans to their clients. However, many halloween stores offer Geisha costumes, and these costumes are often bastardizations of real Geisha. Most Geisha costumes, for example, do not include traditional face paint, and are shorter than traditional kimonos in order to be ‘sexy’ and more appealing to potential customers.
This simplification of culture is an insult to people of differing ethnic backgrounds. By ignoring the details of a culture's traditional outfits, costumes become culturally depreciative instead of appreciative. By listing any and all Native American outfits as “Indian”, wearers ignore the diversity and history of Native American tribes. Much of Native American culture was lost through colonization, but the tribes that remain all have distinct differences in traditional outfits. Refusing to acknowledge these details is a serious insult to the Native Americans that have fought and are fighting against racism to retain their cultural identity.
In conclusion, wearing racist costumes on Halloween is an insult to the history and hard work of other cultures. Covert racism, passed off as an allegedly harmless joke, is still racism and not acceptable no matter the holiday.