Scott's 16-year-old son who was shopping with her said the costume drove home the point the Lincoln High School Native American Caucus is trying to make with its "Our culture is not a costume" campaign.

Yankton said such costumes objectify Native women.

“In the Native community, Native women are three times more likely to get raped and kidnapped in America and Canada (than other ethnicities),” Yankton said. “There is a lot of sexualizing of Native Americans as being exotic, but we believe that is reflected in the higher percentage rate of sexual abuse.

“When I see people wearing a fake priest or nun uniform it makes me cringe a little bit. It feels disrespectful to a religious group that devotes their lives to their beliefs,” he said.

"It’s the same with (a) chief’s headdress. I am one of the people quickly becoming a leader in my Native American community and I do not have the right to wear that.”

He also dislikes Pocahontas costumes. “The story romanticizes her as a young lady meeting a romantic knight in shining armor,” Yankton said. “In real history she was actually kidnapped at the age of 12 and forced to be with this man.

“We know the truth, and it adds to the historical trauma we deal with.

“It goes deeper than costumes and it is a trend we are trying to stop,” he said. “Something as little as a costume can change the perception of a child in the future."

Reach the writer at 402-473-7217 or eandersen@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSerinandersen.

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