Most of us in this country celebrate C****b*s Day by taking advantage of sales at the mall and sticking kids’ European-centric school projects to the family fridge.
There’s a better way: take back the day as Indigenous People’s Day.
I hope by now you’ve at least heard the term “cultural misappropriation”, and are aware of the brave and important standoff at Standing Rock.
Far from being picturesque-but-extinct (read: genocide) cultural groups, or the one-dimensional makers of tchotchkes from your Western vacation, these are our beautiful, badass, sovereign neighbors who have gotten a very raw deal over the past 500 years.
Thanks to the internet, you can appreciate real, live, indigenous designers working within their time-honored media and techniques, styled for the 21st century. Here are a few of my favorites:
B.YELLOWTAIL Collective
Organized by Bethany Yellowtail (Crow and Northern Cheyenne) around her namesake collection of contemporary womenswear, her shop features the work of 15 native artists from the Great Plains. The dress below is aces. She also has a line of graphic tees and accessories (http://shop.spreadshirt.com/byellowtail) supporting the Sacred Stone Camp at Standing Rock holding off the construction of the DAPL oil pipeline.
Bethany Yellowtail
Beyond Buckskin
Beyond Buckskin is a website established by Dr. Jessica Metcalfe (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) to 1. call out cultural appropriation and 2. promote Native American fashion and design. In addition to her searingly smart and informative blog, the Beyond Buckskin shop features great jewelry, accessories, and casual fashion. I love these scarves by Jamie Okuma (Luiseno + Shoshone Bannock).
Hiptipico works with native Mayan artists in Guatemala to create awesome, colorful woven and beaded accessories, clothing, and housewares. Their primary social mission is in funding scholarships for Mayan students. Their styling is complementary to the likes of Urban Outfitters, and if their products look familiar, it’s because they are carried by UO and Free People. This jacket is cute:
There are many others, so look around the tubes– I particularly recommend reading through Beyond Buckskin’s blog to discover more indigenous designers.