Local college addresses Halloween stereotypes

A Halloween costume can be removed when the night is over. But someone’s culture is something that can’t ever be taken off.

That’s how Ana Cuddington explains it. Cuddington, who is the student services Manager at Scottsdale Community College and a member of the Akimel O’otham tribe Gila River Indian Community, is raising awareness for SCC’s poster campaign “My Culture is Not a Costume.”

This is the seventh year that SCC is participating in the nationally recognized campaign. It is one of the many ways that the community college promotes cultural awareness and community activities for its Native American students and the wider student body. The college is also home to the American Indian Program, created in the 1970s to address educational needs and provide support to Native American students and their communities.

The University of Colorado at Boulder,

the University of Oregon and the University of Denver are some of the other educational institutions that have participated in the campaign to educate the wider public on how such costumes can amount to cultural appropriation and perpetuate harmful stereotypes.

“A lot of people of color or just different ethnicities are made fun of during this time,” said Cuddington. “I think that’s how this campaign came to be and that’s what it’s trying to address. Instead of wanting to make fun of a group or not really care whether you’re making anybody feel a certain way, the campaign encourages people to learn about a community instead.”

How does the campaign work?

SCC students, faculty and staff sent in photos of themselves in their traditional Native attire. The campaign showcased the photos online through the college’s website on Oct. 18 just in time for the upcoming Halloween festivities.

The poster campaign will also run through November for Native American Heritage Month. Photos of faculty and staff who contributed can also be found on SCC’s social media platforms.

Cuddington, who is also part of the American Indian Program at SCC, notes that not all Native Americans may be offended by some costumes. However, she believes that this campaign is a good opportunity to get educated on

Native American cultures, peoples, history and daily issues that tribes still endure.

“I know people may not fully understand why someone may be offended because there are people that are not (offended),” Cuddington said. “But just understand that at the end of the day we, as Native people, we can’t take off our costume. We are not a mask and our culture is not Halloween.”

You can connect with Arizona Republic Culture and Outdoors Reporter Shanti Lerner through email at shanti.lerner@gannett.com or you can also follow her on Twitter.

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