The curse of the every-day Aboriginal woman: Constantly being compared to the pretty white girl on TV, in billboards and down the street. Well maybe not the curse of ALL Aboriginal women as there are also beautiful indigenous women who would love nothing more than to look the part. Who is most likely to face prejudice based on their looks: the Indigenous woman with obvious native traits living in an urban setting or the pale skin blond haired Indigenous woman who lives in a First Nations community? This is a double standard that so many Aboriginal women face on a daily basis. Where can we truly fit it? While so many alter their look to fit in to mainstream Caucasian society others try to get their “indian” on by dying their hair, adding accessories and applying stylish makeup. What is the right dose of “Aboriginal traits” in order to be considered beautiful by both mainstream society and our peers?

Standards of beauty – now, there’s a truly subjective issue! While it’s an easy enough task today to consult fashion archives from recent years, the challenge becomes far more complex to try and chart as elusive a topic as shifting concepts of beauty among indigenous peoples, especially as they applied to a distant past when oral tradition was the primary form of history. Add to that the need to approach such an elusive subject with numerous different Aboriginal nations, each with its own, often-complex history, customs, tradition – and therefore, inevitably, standards of beauty. It’s a safe bet that some grey areas may well remain, even under the most arduous scrutiny. Yet, these quibbles aside, the subject remains an interesting one which undoubtedly deserves attention, if only to debunk some myths that have lingered on for far too long! Keywords: race, indigenous, ethnicity.