By Santee Ross, University of Montana

Halloween is my second favorite holiday because how can you overlook a day that’s held for wearing crazy costumes and trying to scare yourself while stuffing your face with sugary sweets.

Halloween for most of America usually has kids in Ironman and princess costumes going from door to door collecting candy. You can’t exactly do this on the Rez because they are usually spread out over vast landscapes.

But that doesn’t mean that Halloween gets overlooked by Natives.

On many reservations, Halloween brings the community together through different events or parties sponsored by the community.

Back home on the Wind River Reservation, there are so many community-sponsored events it’s hard to keep a weekend free.

There are many masquerade and carnival parties for the families with little ones.

Those parties are fun with their cakewalks (which I never seem to win), costume contests, tons of games and general visiting with family and friends.

Oh, I can’t forget to mention the famous Boys and Girls Club haunted house that is usually held at the old BIA building in Ft. Washakie.

This haunted house is seriously scary (like scream your face off scary) and flocks of Native teenagers often go more than once.

My Navajo friend told me that back on their reservation, the church has a big presence during Halloween.

The church holds carnivals for members of the community to have fun and score some candy they wouldn’t get like the mainstream kids.

Then of course there is the old standby of dressing up and going to Wal-Mart.

When you can manage a ride, heading off to Wal-Mart is always fun because they do usually give out candy to those dressed up and you get to show off your killer costume.

Just because the Rez is too spread out to handle in a walk, doesn’t mean Indians can’t make Halloween memorable through carnivals or simply jumping in someone’s war pony.

Santee Ross (Hopi/Lakota) is from Lander, Wyo.