Why did the colonists dress as “Indians”?
Historians aren’t sure. Historian Phillip J. Deloria suggests that “Playing Indian” is a tradition in American culture that has persisted for centuries. Deloria argues that dressing as “Mohawks” provided the colonists with a shared identity that was distinctly not British. In fact, prior to the Revolution there were several instances of colonists dressing as Indians while protesting British rule. [Deloria, Philip J. Playing Indian, 1998] Other historians argue that the “Mohawk” costume was simply an attempt to disguise the identities of the colonists as they destroyed the tea.
