Duke Fraternity Pi Kappa Phi Had a "Pilgrims and Indians" Party, and People* Got Very Angry
By Jason McIntyre
"The following is an excerpt from the fraternity’s email invitation: “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.” … 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."
It isn’t often you read about outrage at a college theme party … especially at a school like Duke. But Daniels clearly was very unhappy: “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.”
Duke’s Native American Student Alliance is pissed. The Pi Kaps didn’t respond to a query from Daniels. As this story gains traction in the coming hours/days, look for the following to happen: Apology issued by the fraternity. Story gets picked up by ‘The View’/other crappy daytime talk shows. Larger Native American groups step in and call for further action. Pi Kaps kow-tow to pressure and boot whoever organized the party from his leadership role, or maybe the Duke Pi Kap President.
Just admit this: At the age of 18 or 19, you would have totally gone to the party, and you’re curious to see pictures of alleged Duke “pocahotness.” We’ve love to see some photos from the event. Kindly drop us a line if you’ve got any: JMcIntyre@TheBigLead.com or TheBigLead@Gmail.com. [Duke Chronicle via Rush the Court]
* This is obviously a joke; Daniels and Amber Richardson both seem to be the only ones peeved about this. For now.