Native American Exploitation In The Fashion Industry

Native American Exploitation in the Fashion Industry Walking into Kmart, I roam through the decorative aisles in search of a cheap Halloween costume. As I am rummaging through all the apparel, I come across a costume I am not as appalled to see anymore. It is a sad and shameful women’s costume that attempts to portray a “Charming Indian,” or so it says. The woman is dressed in a cheaply-made, beige, velveteen low cut dress, with dark brown fringes running along its rim. Her hair is in two braids and she has a fake feather tucked into her hair. In disgust, I shove it to the very back of the shelf. I do so in order to conceal it so other fellow shoppers would not have to - in the worst-case scenario - purchase this humiliating costume. A recurring

George describes Habitat’s ads as they project families living in third-world living conditions. Like Native American regalia, this image does not fully capture all situations, and it is a major issue. Native American exploitation in the fashion industry is an ongoing headache for Natives who recognize that these costumes and other forms of cultural appropriation degrade our image, is disrespectful to sacred ceremonial events, and hinders people from witnessing modern Native Americans as their true and initial

Many companies have been sued or extremely criticized for using tribal names or sacred symbols inspired by Native American traditional or ceremonial clothing. For example, in 2011, Urban Outfitters was scrutinized and pressed to remove their line of “Navajo” clothing, of that included an $8 “Navajo Hipster Panty” (Keene). This advertised undergarment was printed with a Native American design I would likely see woven into a rug or hung up on the wall in a Native American art exhibit. These ideas created by major clothing companies - with absolutely no ties to the Navajo or Native American culture - degrades who we are and what we hold with respect. Another example, would be Karlie Kloss’s runway outfit for a Victoria's Secret show (Dorsey). In photos, she proudly struts down the platform in a leopard print bikini lined with the all too familiar suede fringe. It is also accessorized by what I recognize, as a squash blossom (a very expensive turquoise necklace worn by many women on my Navajo reservation) and a silver Concho belt. To press the thorn deeper, she is also wearing a Native American headdress. This is the ultimate degradation. By wearing these pieces of jewelry and sacred ceremonial headdress with a leopard print bikini, it is also sexualizing Native American traditional clothing. A quote from Kristen Dorsey, author of the journal “Decolonizing the Runway,” tells us how