If a fashion item is for sale to the open public, and one wears it publicly, it is a clear demonstration of appreciation, and credit is much appreciated, but not required. Most artists who make jewelry, or clothing, build close and personal relationships with their clients. It is perfectly okay to purchase t-shirts, stickers, hoodies, leggings, boots, moccasins, jewelry, and other unique Native-made products, but to use those materials to advance a cause when one is not from the heritage is also appropriation.
It is perfectly okay for anyone to purchase, gift, and wear Native-produced items such as jewelry, t-shirts, hoodies, leggings, jackets, hats, and other clothing items in public. Hundreds of thousands of people do so at the annual Santa Fe Indian Market.
New Wave of Indigenous Representation Brings New Enthusiasm to Native Culture, Art and Products
The last several years have brought unprecedented Indigenous cultural representation to worldwide audiences through mainstream media, and with that comes increased visibility to Native arts, culture, and products. Now, more than ever, Native culture is celebrated and seen in spaces for the first time, placing Indigenous fashion and expression in the mainstream.
Indigenous creatives are partnering with luxurious fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren, and many others are using their opportunities to uplift and support Indigenous designers. Native creatives such as Louie Gong (founder and former CEO of 8th Generation), Elias Not Afraid, Jamie Okuma, Lenise Omeasso, and others are being showcased in international fashion magazines and brought on the red carpet, giving Indigenous representation through fashion and art its due.
Indian Arts and Crafts Act
There has long been an interest in Native culture by others, and that has included acts of theft including fraudulent representation of Native-produced items such as jewelry, rugs, pottery, clothing, and other cultural items. The widespread misrepresentation of Native cultural items has led largely to the passing of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which has multiple amendments and makes it illegal in the United States and its territories to produce and sell “Indian products” if you are not enrolled in a federally or state-recognized tribe. The Indian Arts and Crafts Act is one of the few federal Indian laws that has protections for state-recognized tribes, where enrolled members of state-recognized tribes can make and sell “Indian products” like those from federally recognized tribes.
What classifies as an “Indian product” is currently under review by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), where the agency may add more regulated mediums of what constitutes an “Indian product”. Items such as food products like beer or steaks as well as protections for Native Hawaiians are considered to be added to the protected mediums, but there is no official deadline when, or if, the BIA will decide to add the mediums according to Asst. Secretary of Interior Bryan Newland.
A non-Indian can make and sell products in the style of Indian art or craft products only if the seller does not falsely suggest to consumers that the products have been made by an Indian (defined in the law as a person enrolled in a state or a federally recognized tribe). In other words, the law states that if an item is in the style of Indian arts or crafts, the seller must state if the product was made by a person enrolled in a state of federally recognized tribe, or not. Many don’t abide by the law, though because enforcement is rare and usually only includes a fine.
Cultural Appropriation In Fashion
Because fashion, or fashion clothing such as garments, tee-shirts, shorts, or other contemporary clothing items isn’t a protected medium, and many artists do not have their materials copyrighted, there is no official enforcement to the practice of taking images and recreating them for sale. This scenario isn’t new though, and presents the question of cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciation.
Many creatives are launching businesses, and posting their creations on social media only to find out that knock-off businesses copy, reproduce, and sell items of similar look and fashion online with no mention of the creation of the item. Theft is appropriation.
What Is Cultural Appropriation?
The main difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation is that one demans and dishonors, and the other honors and uplifts.
If items are influenced by Native culture and then the dominant culture adopts an item’s element, such as an image or design, and makes it theirs by way of selling it, it’s appropriation. Cultural appropriation can include the exploitation of cultural traditions, dance steps, fashion, symbols, language, and music.
Recently, Pharrell Williams released a new fashion line for Louis Vuitton, which has been branded as a fusion of American and Native American influences. His collaboration featured several Native designers including Lauren Good Day, Trae Littlesky, Jocy Littlesky, and Kendra Red House with some of the collections featuring floral and geometric designs found on scarves, bags, and blankets worn on the Paris fashion runway.
The artists who collaborated with Williams were not mentioned in any press materials, the delegation of Native singers, dancers, and models was not mentioned during the show, and there is no mention of the artists on the fashion website. There is nothing mentioned on the website about Indigenous collaborations, Native collaborations, Native inspired, or the like.
Not everyone agreed with Williams's partnership. He was previously under scrutiny from his Elle Magazine cover appearance in 2014, where he was photographed wearing a seemingly Northern Plains headdress (with painted ostrich feathers). He soon apologized for his actions and has continued cultivating partnerships with Indigenous creatives in the Dakotas.
Norma Baker-Flyinghorse, a celebrated Dakota and Hidatsa fashion designer whose fashion line Red Berry Woman has had several appearances on red carpet events, questioned his motives by phrasing, “Encourage each other to rise but also encourage each other to be mindful of those who claim they want to lift you up. Ask yourself are they doing it correctly or are they doing it for profit?”
“If Pharrell Williams wants to give Native Americans a platform at this level in the fashion world so we can represent who we truly are and where we come from, then he needs to sit down, pay attention, and give all creative control over to us otherwise leave our culture alone,” Baker Flying Horse said. “His collection is an insult and a slap in the face.”
Since the Louis Vuitton clothing items are not made by Native or Indigenous people, they’re not Native-made products, but since fashion clothing and accessories are not protected under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act the company is not in violation of the law. The items are marketed as “Native inspired”, which is a fancy marketing ploy often used to dupe buyers into that they’re buying an authentic Native item. Most non-Native people are unfamiliar with federal Indian laws, let alone that copying their arts and crafts and selling them is illegal.
The collaboration with Ralph Lauren and Naomi Glasses, a seventh-generation Diné (Navajo) textile artist and designer, is much different. Glasses is predominantly featured on the clothing items she designed and is listed in full marketing materials on their website. While the products are not Native-made, they are Native-inspired and include elements of the artist and inspirations that are expressed in the designs of the clothing item. The launch of the Polo Ralph Lauren x Naiomi Glasses collection also featured all Native people including some of Glasses’ family, Quanah Parker, and Jhane Myers. In addition, the collaboration also comes with a financial arrangement for the community. A percentage of sales from the Polo Ralph Lauren x Naiomi Glasses collection will benefit Change Labs, a Native-led nonprofit organization focused on fostering small business development in Navajo and Hopi communities.
Appropriation vs Appreciation
While one doesn’t question if eating Indigenous foods makes one Indigenous, wearing clothing or jewelry does. For example, if one is eating an Indian taco the question of whether the person is Indian, Native, or Indigenous, an observer doesn’t question if the person is from that heritage, just like any other person eating sushi. However, what one wears is often linked to one’s personal and cultural identity.
Wearing a headdress if one is non-Native is appropriation because a non-Native person would not get permission to wear it in an official capacity. Wearing a Halloween costume of “Indians” is appropriation. Taking clothing and dress, and making it as a mass-produced costume made in China is appropriation. Any items made by a non-Native that features Native and Alaskan Native images, styles, materials, and techniques and then sold is appropriation.
If a fashion item is for sale to the open public, and one wears it publicly, it is a clear demonstration of appreciation, and credit is much appreciated, but not required. Most artists who make jewelry, or clothing, build close and personal relationships with their clients. It is perfectly okay to purchase t-shirts, stickers, hoodies, leggings, boots, moccasins, jewelry, and other unique Native-made products, but to use those materials to advance a cause when one is not from the heritage is also appropriation.
It is perfectly okay for anyone to purchase, gift, and wear Native-produced items such as jewelry, t-shirts, hoodies, leggings, jackets, hats, and other clothing items in public. Hundreds of thousands of people do so at the annual Santa Fe Indian Market.
However, using those same items to legitimize that one is Indigenous, or adopted by Indigenous people, is misrepresenting and appropriating a culture.
