Erasure and appropriation of Indigenous designs are still relevant and alive, but Native American designers are reclaiming the spotlight.
On Indigenous Peoples’ Day this year, moccasin-making brand Minnetonka acknowledged that it is not Indigenous-owned and apologized for profiting from Native American culture. In response, it has pledged collaboration in the future with Indigenous designers and financial support to Native organizations.
The Native American community constantly hears these apologies from prominent brands when they are under fire for appropriation. Brands and companies promise that they will better reach out to up-and-coming Indigenous designers for partnership. Yet, the phone never rings.
“If non-Native designers want to use Native American culture as an inspiration for a collection … talk with someone who knows what those designs mean and … give credit where it’s due,” said Loren Aragon, Acoma Pueblo designer, artist and co-founder of the Phoenix brand Aconav.
Aconav, a merge between Aragon’s Acoma Pueblo culture and his wife and co-founder’s Navajo background, celebrates the strength and empowerment of women worldwide with a desire to properly represent their cultures within their clothes. Aragon said they want to “take back” the designs that have been appropriated and “tell the story properly” from their perspective.
“My designs are meaningful to me. They tell a story in just the fabric itself, just like our clay pots do. And with every collection, with every design, some detail of it tells something about who I am, where I’m from and my people,” Aragon said.
Indigenous designers have the opportunity to share their culture in a way that educates and informs. Knowing the specifics of a design, such as what tribe or family line it belongs to, allows the community to learn the importance and meaning behind the patterns by buying an item directly from that Native artist.
“A person can copy and paste a design all they want, but a Native designer knows what those designs mean, where they come from, what tribe they are from, and the colors that should go with it,” said Randall “RJ” Morin, former Mr. Indian ASU and owner of Black Fox Creations.
Native creators also know what materials or designs are used ceremonially and would be offensive in public view. Aragon said he gets approval from his family members about any item he plans to share to ensure the design won’t “dilute” anything sacred.
Non-Native designers cannot account for these things as they do not belong to the community they are trying to represent. Collaborating or partnering with Indigenous designers will help close this gap, according to Morin and Aragon. But, they both believe an important step toward combating appropriation is giving Indigenous creators center stage.
During a virtual event hosted by the Heard Museum, Korina Emmerich, a contemporary Puyallup clothing designer and artist based in New York, said she was included in the current Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” Yet, she is the only Indigenous designer represented “in a show about America.”
Emmerich is pushing for the Met to include more Native designers when part two of their collection is released next year. Aragon has had a similar experience as his goal the last couple of years has been to be a part of Phoenix Fashion Week after not seeing a “single Native American represented.”
Not only did he find his way to showcase his designs on the runway, but he was named 2018 Couture Designer of the Year by Phoenix Fashion Week, the first Native American to hold this title.
“It’s about having self-representation … Native American people need to be on the same runways as Dior, Gucci, Versace … and we have every right to be. We have every resource,” Aragon said.
Representation is growing as Indigenous-owned places like Native Art Market in Scottsdale, the new Phoenix artspace Cahokia, and the Heard Museum seek to educate the public about Native culture and give Indigenous people a place to share and profit from their work.
Read more: Cahokia celebrates art and collaborative traditions of Indigenous peoples
A Navajo Nation member, Toby Jose taught his two daughters, Ariana and Haley, traditional tribal dances. Now, they perform these dances all over Arizona. Most notably, they have a weekly Saturday commitment at Native Art Market.
What started as a way to bond the family together has now become a way to educate the public as many people still hold the Native American community to many stereotypes, according to Jose.
Performing at the Native Art Market has been an uplifting experience for the family as it allows for them to educate others about their culture in an atmosphere that gives space for Native designers and artists to finally hold the reins in the fashion world.
“Native people have a business here and a platform,” Jose said about the market. “It allows for us as performers and as artists to come and share and get the word out that as native people, we’re still here.”
Contact the reporter at emwillar@asu.edu.
