The RCMP has announced they’ve included ribbon skirts in their dress code to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said on Wednesday that the traditional Indigenous ribbon skirt, along with an eagle feather Métis Sash, will now be included in their everyday dress code.
He stated that the optional new uniform will “demonstrate the RCMP’s values of reconciliation, equity, diversity, and inclusion.”
Multiple individuals on social media are criticizing the ribbon skirt, noting how impractical it would be to wear when dealing with day-to-day enforcement and arrests, and how it sacrifices safety for woke inclusivity.
And, ironically, the idea appears to have backfired on the RCMP, with Indigenous leaders immediately denouncing the skirt.
“I’m not in favor of what’s being done or said, that’s for sure,” said Carol McBride, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, calling the skirt “inappropriate.”
“The dress or the skirt is a very ceremonial thing of the Anishinaabe people, and I think that this is not a good idea to have it with the RCMP uniform because of the past history,” she said.
