Top 10 Native Appropriations in Fashion for 2011

It's that time of year! When everyone posts their Top 10 of 2011 Lists, and here is my list of the top Native appropriations in fashion for 2011 (take THAT, Los Angeles Times!):

10. Forever 21's Cheap Knock-Offs: We can always count on Forever 21 to give us some great cheap options for any fashion trend. I even make my students go to F21 as part of a Tribal Trend Scavenger Hunt assignment. They never fail to bring in stellar images of some wacky fringed and feathered bodily ruckus.

9. Suzy Menkes and the S-Word: Fashion critic and writer Suzy Menkes selects the wrong choice of words, and her slur flies completely under the radar.

8. Pendleton's Collaboration with Those Hipster Companies: Oh, Pendleton. Our entangled epic relationship continues.

7. Spirit Hoods: I never blogged about these weird fluffy critters that hipsters love to wear on their heads while they're seeking vision quests at the latest music festival. But Adrienne Keene did over at Native Appropriations, and her interactions with the Spirit Hood Tribal Chief is hilarious.

6. Vogue's Indians: Vogue editors everywhere fell in love with the Indian and decided to do some fashion spreads in homage. The problem is that they chose to use non-Native designers, non-Native models, non-Native photographers, non-Native stylists and make-up artists, and non-Native consultants and editors.

5. Red-on-Red Art Crime: (Mis)Appropriation happens all across the board, and in every direction, and in this post from earlier in December, a Native artist/businessman steals a design from a well-known Metis artist to create accessories to sell on Zazzle.

4. The Callaloo Parade: Native-themed parades were all the rage this summer (remember when the Pride boys filled their float with Cowboys and Indians in Santa Fe?), but one in particular really stuck out for me. It was the Callaloo Caribana Parade held in Toronto, where 'sanctioned' hyper-sexualized costumes included the 'Native Apache' and the 'Sacrificial Mayan Virgin.' So, of course, I investigated the sexualization of Native women in fashion, from a critical perspective.

3. Proenza Schouler's Creepy Indians Video: Oh lawrd. When this one dropped I didn't know what to do. I think we all just scratched our heads. Some people tried to tell us that this video was 'clever,' but... I disagree.

2. White Women (and Men) and Headdresses: The headdress trend continues, despite being overtly disrespectful. Sigh. So I began researching the history of this annoying trend.

1. Urban Outfitters' Navajo Obsession: The short version: UO becomes obsessed with Navajos, Navajos send them a cease and desist letter, UO ignores, bloggers and writers wage digital war. Well, if it wasn't for this case, we wouldn't have this gem of a quote: "Don't claim Navajo, unless it's Navajo, and you ain't Navajo. So knock if off." Yea, knock it off.

BONUS: Genocide Chic Satire: Hilarity ensues when mock high fashion designer DW Diaz dips the old crusty past in some glitter!



Let's hope that none of these "top trends in Native appropriations in fashion" drag on into 2012!

Cheers to a new year~

Intermission: The Brutal Reality

For the past several days, I've been highlighting Native American and First Nations artists and small businesses, in hopes that people will buy directly from Native artists this holiday season. And I love focusing this blog on talented individuals (and their creativity and awesomeness), but sometimes I need to post about issues of misappropriation, misuse, and misrepresentation.

I'd rather have this entire blog focus on 'Native-produced fashion,' but in our crazy world, unacceptable things occur, and I have to post about completely ridiculous things, because completely ridiculous things occur. And, unfortunately, they occur more often than we'd like to know about.

So here's an intermission post, where I write about the ridiculousness.

Ok, so, this guy, Grey Owl (who may or may not be Native American - more on that in a second) is selling some items that look an awful lot like the artwork of Métis artist, Christi Belcourt (and by 'an awful lot' I mean 'exact replica').

Exhibit A: Christi Belcourt's artwork, The Conversation:

Exhibit B: Grey Owl's knock-off, Ojibway Blackberry Case:

So, you may argue that the Blackberry Case is kinda cool. Yea it's cool, because an artist made that design. BUT, Grey Owl isn't giving any of the money from sales to the artist. He never even asked Belcourt to use her art.

This is a problem. On multiple levels.

On one level, you are stealing from a noted artist. That's just straight illegal. You can't do that. Period. Knock it off.

On a second level, why do non-artists (and businesses and corporations) consistently try to cheat artists? (this applies to all artists, not just Native artists). This is annoying. Creativity is necessary for the continuance of our communities, and we should be supporting artists, not ripping them off.

And finally, why do people think, over and over again, that Native artists are nameless artists, and that what ever they produce is free for the taking? Oh, perhaps it's because of the effed up history of art history?- of the Western (read: white people) habits of collecting Native American/First Nations objects of aesthetic value (which involved stealing and grave robbing, let's not sugarcoat this), in which few names were recorded (and, frequently, the only fact that it was 'Native American' made it something to be 'owned'). No, the work of Native artists is not free for the taking.

Ok, let's give Grey Owl the benefit of the doubt and say that he is, as he says, "a Native American Craftsman, Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Leech Lake Band, ID#407B008010." I mean, he did just give us his Indian ID number. Like, woah.

But, duuuuuuuddde, dude. Don't tell me that you just committed a 'red-on-red artist crime.' These offenses are highly surveillanced by an intelligent group of sassy people like myself. You are now on our radar, and not on our 'good radar.' That's just too bad for you.

Additional info, click here.

Click here to write your complaint about Grey Owl's illegal activity.

UPDATE (Dec 10, 2011):
Grey Owl removed the items from his shop. CORRECTION (from Christi Belcourt): "he claimed to have removed the images from his website, however the images were removed by Zazzle staff only at my persistent insistence after I had to jump through hoops back and forth with them to prove the artwork was mine. When that was done they sent me an email confirming they had removed the items I had listed and also notified him by email."

UPDATE (Dec 10, 2011):
Christi Belcourt is not the only artist being ripped off on Zazzle (what's up with Zazzle anyways?). Looks like the store DefinitelyMaybe is using Juane Quick-to-See Smith's War is Heck.

Exhibit A, Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith's art:

Exhibit B, War is Heck T-shirt:

Thanks to Sherry Farrell Racette for catching this (while checking to make sure her students weren't plagiarizing...)