“The clothing worn by Indigenous cultures can be called regalia, but when worn by non-Indigenous people who are ‘dressing up,’ Indigenous culture is being discounted.” – Sarena Johnson (Caldwell First Nation) and Lecturer in Brock University’s Indigenous Educational Studies programs
News from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario
Posted October 30th, 2025 on Niagara At Large
As Halloween approaches, Sarena Johnson (Caldwell First Nation) is encouraging those planning on dressing up to apply a culturally sensitive perspective before donning their costumes.
Traditional Indigenous clothing is not a “costume,” says Johnson, a Lecturer in Brock University’s Indigenous Educational Studies programs.
“The clothing worn by Indigenous cultures can be called regalia, but when worn by non-Indigenous people who are ‘dressing up,’ Indigenous culture is being discounted,” she says.
Johnson says the iconic Plains war bonnet, for example, is a sacred item for Indigenous leaders that is often appropriated as a costume for Halloween.
“The Plains war bonnet has been the most popular Indigenous ‘costume’ in pop culture and has become infamous at festivals like Coachella,” she says.
Each eagle feather in the bonnet, often called a headdress, is sacred and represents a sacrifice for the community on the part of the leader, Johnson says. Despite its sanctity, she says it has, at times, “become a spectacle” when treated as an accessory or costume.
“It has even been used by some Indigenous activists who are not from the Plains to get media attention, although in today’s Indigenous communities, most people know not to do this,” she says.
Unless you are an Indigenous person, don’t get dressed up like this for Halloween or for anything else, for that matter
The negative impact of appropriating Indigenous clothing and regalia can be traced back to when settlers first came to North America, Johnson says, when public representations of Indigenous Peoples were purposely dehumanized to justify land theft and other violent acts.
“Indigenous Peoples were shown as feathered monkeys in early colonial texts, so there could be no sympathetic identification with them by settlers and Europeans back home. In media, Indigenous Peoples have also been portrayed as the ‘savage,’” she says.
Historically, Johnson says, this problematic representation of being “less than human” created long-standing stereotypes that prevented settlers from relating to Indigenous Peoples, effectively separating Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
“The use of negative and sub-human imagery has continued, and some of the main holdouts are sports teams’ logos and Halloween costumes,” she says.
In both instances, people might discount the negative impact by saying the use of Indigenous clothing or imagery is a “compliment” or “meant to be honouring,” she says, but those beliefs “are rooted in both Indigenous erasure and the colonial desire to control and represent Indigeneity.”
In recognition of the 10 years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) first published its 94 Calls to Action, Johnson hopes old ways of “dressing up” in Indigenous clothing is a thing of the past.
“Mutually honouring each other’s humanity is an important step in reconciliation,” she says.
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