Excerpt of an invitation to a Duke Phi Kappa Pi party invite:
In 1621 some crazy pilgrims had a pretty brutal harvest. Word on the street was they didn’t have enough food for half the bros in Plymouth. Then some hot natives came along with some extra food.… On Saturday, the brothers of Pi Kappa Phi will be honoring that party spirit. There will be a cornucopia of treats in our modern-day teepee. Tap into your inner pocahotness, wear a few feathers and party like you don’t care if you survive the winter.
At first, I refused to attend an event that sounded so derogatory toward Native Americans. The fraternity took on a terrible history of colonialism and genocide and turned it into a sexy party theme. The language in their invitation (“hot natives” and “pocahotness”) sexualizes the Native American race. Having learned the theme just hours before the party, it was too late for me to try and stop it. I ultimately decided that if I was going to criticize this party, I had to see it for myself.
It was very disheartening to find my own friends there, dressed in outfits that epitomized an insensitive caricature of Native Americans. Hordes of my peers had faces covered in “war paint” and wore rainbow-colored feathers on their heads. The makeup and costumes I saw were both completely inaccurate and disrespectful. Headdresses and feathers have profound spiritual significance to Native Americans, and mimicking them is extremely offensive. A massive teepee stood outside the party, serving as a photo op for the obnoxiously dressed guests to pose with. Notably, teepees are specific to tribes in the Great Plains and never even existed in Plymouth, Mass. This incorrect and stereotypical dwelling endorsed the misconception that Native Americans have a monolithic culture. It undermined the reality that there are many tribes with diverse and intricate ways of life. If students want to celebrate “giving thanks” and unity, they should not mock and belittle an important part of our community.
Daniels also observed:
Based on the costumes I saw, it seems that Duke students see Native Americans as characters rather than as human beings. Beyond insulting Native Americans, this mentality is problematic because it fuels continued discrimination and hate crimes against Native Americans today. This mindset is especially concerning because there are Native American students at Duke.
