'We are not a costume.' Mashpee Wampanoag tribal members push back at party flyer

Mashpee Wampanoag tribal members Darrius and Eleanor "Tootie" Coombs of East Falmouth went to grab supper on Oct. 27 at The Loft restaurant at The Cove in West Yarmouth. As they entered the elevator at The Cove, where they were staying for the weekend, they saw a Halloween party flyer.

The flyer featured a woman with long hair, dressed in a cowboy hat, holding a gun. Across the front of the flyer were the words: WANTED Spooky or Sexy Cowboys/Girls, Indians & Chiefs, Saloon-goers & Townsmen.

"We were pretty upset," said Darrius Coombs, who was offended by the words "Indians & Chiefs." "This is our culture," he said. "Dressing as a Native person for Halloween is offensive. We are not a costume."

The flyer was provided to the Times by Coombs.

The Cove front desk gave Coombs contact information for The Loft co-owner Kevin Richards to ask about the party, which was to be held Oct. 28. When Coombs called Richards, he said he explained why the flyer was offensive. Regalia, or traditional Native dress, is sacred, said Coombs.

"I told him that it wasn't okay to insult our culture like that,” Coombs said.

During that phone conversation, Richards told Coombs that the event was a Western-themed Halloween party because the country band Tattoo Cowboys would be performing, according to Coombs.

"He kept saying that it was just a Western theme. But we (Native American people) were getting pillaged, raped, murdered and scalped during what's known as the time period of the Wild West," said Eleanor Coombs. "That was the western theme for our people. How is that cool?"

'Careless and sloppy' wording on the event poster

Richards said he would take the Halloween party flyer off The Loft's Facebook page, and from around the hotel and restaurant, according to Darrius Coombs. He would also speak with Kathy Gianno, co-owner of The Loft, about how else to handle the situation, Coombs said.

"He said he would get back to me," said Coombs. "But he never called back."

Richards confirmed that he spoke with Coombs and told the Times that The Loft was "careless and sloppy" with the wording on the event poster. "Right off the bat, we apologized," said Richards by phone Wednesday.

Richards considered canceling the party, he said. But the flyers had already been up for three weeks. Instead, Richards and Gianno decided to provide cowboy hats to any partygoers who showed up dressed as Native American people, said Gianno.

"That was the best fix we could do. We thought that was enough," said Gianno. "Why should we have canceled the whole party?" The co-owners said they also offered to allow Coombs to speak during the party about his heritage.

The debate comes to a head

When Richards didn't return calls or texts from Darrius Coombs, he and his wife headed back to the restaurant in the early evening on the night of the party. As they entered the hotel elevator, Coombs said they saw new flyers.

Richards denies putting flyers back up.

Once the couple arrived at the restaurant, they spoke with Gianno.

"She said the restaurant was going to move forward with the party as planned and kept saying they were pushing forward with their theme and that they weren't trying to insult anybody," said Coombs, adding that they didn't want the argument to become physical, so the couple went back to their hotel room.

For Gianno, being confronted about the party scared her and she said Eleanor Coombs was angry. Gianno said she called Kevin Lennon, Yarmouth chief of police, about Eleanor Coombs' behavior. A police report was not filed, she said.

Lennon confirmed that Gianno did call him on Saturday and she did not file a report, he said in an email to the Times.

Gianno said Eleanor Coombs called her several names and said that Gianno and Richards are benefitting from white privilege.

"She was screaming and saying that we had no right to be on Wampanoag land," said Gianno. "I was insulted by her approach."

Darrius Coombs said Eleanor Coombs was frustrated by Richards' and Gianno's inability to understand why Wampanoag people would be upset by their Halloween party theme.

“Non-Native people often don't consider us human, or they think we are all dead and gone," he said. "Either way, they think they can do whatever they want to do and there will be no voices that are going to stand up. We are still here and we have something to say.”

No Native costumes at The Loft

Coombs returned to the restaurant later that night to see if anyone showed up dressed in a costume of Native attire.

"I just wanted to get pictures — not cause a disruption," he said.

Coombs was pleasantly surprised that none of the partygoers were dressed as Native people.

“The people attending the party had more sense than the ownership," said Coombs. "They were dressed as cowboys, and Batmans — things like that. It was a nice little Halloween party where no culture was being insulted.”

Coombs said he left the establishment on a good note.

"I don't think they understood what the real, overall issue was. They couldn't listen to us as Native people," he said. "But I don't think they'll do that again,"

Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Western theme Halloween party prompts debate in West Yarmouth