On Oct. 24, the TRU Intercultural Learning Department hosted a workshop focused on cultural appropriation and sensitivity in costuming and beyond. Titled, “Culture is not a Costume: Exploring Cultural Appropriation on Halloween,” the event featured Writer and Storyteller Alicia Ashcroft, along with nurse and intercultural storyteller Amna Qazi. Amie McLean, the program’s intercultural coordinator, provided valuable support throughout the event.
Following a land acknowledgement and a brief introduction, Qazi and Ashcroft took the podium to tackle challenging issues. Although Halloween served as a starting point, the topics discussed were broad and widely applicable in all multicultural spaces. Students were encouraged to share their thoughts on cultural insensitivity, appropriation and exchange in an open and respectful environment.
“I think the program was really important,” Anzoa Madelene Kajusa, fourth-year communications major, said. “With the holidays coming up, we’ve seen people in the past—and even now—wearing things that offend others. So it’s really good to have that knowledge and understand when you could be crossing a line because some people genuinely don’t know. I think it went great.”
Kajusa works as an Intercultural Ambassador here at the university. These students dedicate themselves to promoting equality and inclusivity around the university, and their most recent efforts were in support of this program.
“Intercultural Ambassadors learn about their own culture and those of the people around them,” Kajusa said. “In TRU and Canada, we see people from all over the world. So, being able to communicate and work with diverse groups is important. Our role is to promote diversity, anti-racism, inclusivity, indigenization, decolonization, and overall, to make the university a better place to be.”
Qazi and Ashcroft shared how the concept of a cultural appropriation workshop came to fruition. Qazi revealed that the idea came to her in a moment of inspiration just two days before Halloween in 2020. After reaching out to Ashcroft and receiving an enthusiastic response, they decided to proceed with the project.
“We were really lucky,” Qazi said. “It was taken up by a lot of national organizations, and other universities have used our blog for quotes.”
“My job as a writer and storyteller overseeing the Storyteller Squad is taking those 3 am ideas and bringing it into reality and dealing with some of the technical logistics,” Ashcroft said. “We connected with accessibility services and other departments, and they were all keen to jump in and put a checklist together.”
The checklist, which was central to the program, highlighted seven core issues related to racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and ableism in costuming. “We don’t want a situation where some people are having fun and others aren’t,” Qazi said. “That’s just not the kind of energy we want to be around.”
This marks the second year of this event, and was, according to the organizers, a modest success. Students actively participated by sharing their opinions, asking difficult questions, recounting personal anecdotes and providing valuable cultural contexts. By the end of the program, the original checklist had expanded.
“People shared their different experiences and brought up some really good points,” Kajusa recounted. “I think it was important that students engaged, and gave their opinions around different subjects.”
As the program concluded and students left to catch their next classes, many lingered behind to pick up where the conversation left off. Several people present expressed relief in being able to discuss the complicated situations they encountered while navigating the culturally diverse world of TRU and beyond.
“I think it’s great to have a space where we can talk about these things,” Kajusa said. “A lot of us are trying to avoid mistakes, but sometimes you just don’t know.”
The Intercultural Learning Department will be offering a Study Skills course this Winter, 2025. STSS 1020, aptly named “Local to Global: Intercultural Interactions,” will equip interested students with important social and historical contexts for approaching diversity and important communication skills that encourage appropriate engagement with the culturally diverse communities in TRU and beyond.
Information about this new course may be obtained here..
If you’re interested in the Intercultural Learning Department, check out their page here. If you’re looking to become an Intercultural Ambassador next year, you can find more about them here.