Daunnette Neraih-Model has a favor to ask — don't dress like a Native American for Halloween.
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00:00When I see people wearing Native American costumes, my feelings are genuinely hurt.
00:29If you're thinking of getting your own Halloween costume this year, there's plenty of things
00:34you could be.
00:35You could be a pumpkin, you could be a witch, you could be a bumblebee, but please do not
00:40be dressed up as a Native American because my culture is not your costume.
00:54You dress up as a Native American for one night, but you don't understand the adversities
01:02that we go through, not just as an individual, but as a people, as a nation.
01:07They don't understand the pain that we feel because, you know, it wasn't their ancestors
01:12that were slaughtered, it wasn't their ancestors that were tortured, it wasn't their ancestors
01:19that were put away, it wasn't their ancestors that had their culture taken from them.
01:24It wasn't their ancestors, if anything, it was their ancestors that did the dirty to
01:28us.
01:29So it really just hurts my feelings whenever I see costumes that mimic my culture because
01:35I know that they don't understand what we go through as a people.
01:54We haven't really had a seat at the table to really be able to gain the respect that
02:20we deserve and, you know, to let our voices be heard.
02:25They want us to be quiet and it's not like all the, you know, like all the Indigenous
02:29peoples of this land is just sitting in their, you know, just sitting in their houses like
02:34not saying anything, you know.
02:36A lot of the people where I'm from and different reservations that I know, they do speak up
02:42about these, you know, about these problems.
02:44I can guarantee you that everybody that is trying is trying their hardest.
02:49I know I'm trying my hardest to make it known that we need a change, not just in Indian
02:54country, but in the whole United States, we need a change.