Baby Teepees are like, totally, in.

The newest accessory for your already perfect nursery? A tipi of course! Eagle-eyed readers Andrea, Laura, and Mieko spotted these "adorable" tipi's all over tumblr last week. Most of the pictures are from Design Chic, and here's how the author sets up a slew of tipi-pics:

Grown-up or child, we all need a little bit of space that is all ours. Last week, I was looking for the perfect gift for my nephew's two-year-old birthday. I wanted to give him a cute tent to put in the yard, but Mom suggested a teepee instead. What a perfect gift! He loves it, learned a great, new, easy-to-pronounce vocabulary word, and, most important, it looks adorable in the house but can go outside at any time. Definitely a winning combination.  These teepees are not only the perfect place for a child's imagination to run wild, but also add a whimsical design touch to the room (or yard). We hope you love them as much as we do!

Um, yeah. I laughed out loud at Julia's commentary on her tumblr (she blogs at A'allure Garconniere as well), and I really don't think I can say it any better:

Teepees are great because they are whimsical! (as opposed to tents, those are just boring) teepees are great because it’s a new, simple, easy to pronounce vocabulary word for a two year old! (because “tent” is just so overly complicated). teepees are great, because as a rich white privileged person, they allow me to relegate western plains native people to this archaic, whimsical, historical vestige of the past, instead of confronting my nation’s history of colonization and acknowledging native people’s lives and ways of living as complex and multifaceted. this new teepee trend is just so great, because now expensive design companies can make a buck by selling western plains native iconography as playtime places for kids in the suburbs!

I’m so happy incorporating teepees into my home decor allow my child the opportunity to erase my nation’s history of violence and cultural genocide by encouraging his imagination run wild about the ways he, too, can be cultural appropriative when he grows up. 

Love it! Whenever I post about tipi's, like when I talked about the Glastonbury music festival in the UK last year, I tend to get push back. "It's just a tent!" people say. "We're not allowed to appreciate Native technology?" they protest. My problem is that the tipis I see and the discussions around them always seem to involve some level of fantasy play, you're not just hanging out in a tent that looks like a tipi. At the music festival it was adding to the whole free-rugged-in-nature-wild-thing athestic, these kid-tipis are encouraging "playing Indian" in the most literal way possible. I don't know if you can have an innocent usage, because I feel like no matter what there's a fetishization of "how Indians lived before"--and it continues the stereotypes that we all live/lived in tipis. I don't know. I'll ruminate as we look at a bazillion more pictures:

All of these are from Design Chic, and there are more on the post, if you need them. So what do you think? Cultural appropriation? Cringe-worthy? Should we just be glad the benevolent design bloggers have deemed us cool for a minute? Should I fly into a uncontrollable rage? NATIVE HULK TEEPEE SMASH!!

(Thanks Andrea, Laura, Meiko, and Julia!)

Random Appropriation of the Day! ("Native American Teepee for fluffy little critters")

This "Teepee" for your pets has been making the rounds on all sorts of design blogs on the internet in the last week or so. So random. And it's cardboard, not exactly a plush hangout for your "fluffy little critter". The description reads:

This Tipi, entirely made of recycled corrugated cardboard, distinguishes itself through its innovative design inspired by a classic symbol of Canadian iconography, The Amerindian culture and the collective imagination associated with it.

Which is actually kinda interesting. Note they used the correct spelling in the description, but not in the title, and the phrase "collective imagination," which could be interpreted that they realize that the stereotype this tipi represents is not necessarily a true depiction of Native culture...but that might be giving them more credit than they deserve.

Here it is without cats:

And the website: https://us.loyalluxe.com/show-all/the-native-american-teepee.html

(Thanks Annie, Stacy, Sarah, Dianna, and Veronica!)

Bonus Round: All the Awesome Tips in My Inbox

(screen shot from the new N.E.R.D. and Nelly Furtado video)

Welcome to a new Friday feature, where I round-up all the awesome tips I get in my inbox, but don't have a chance to write full posts about.

Consider it a work-in-progress (I still need a name for it--ideas? let me know!). If anything in here strikes your fancy, and you'd like me to write more about it, post in the comments. Tips with highest number of "votes" will get a full write up!

Ready? Here we go...

• Actress Erin Cummings has an image of her dressed in a headdress as her Twitter background, and when contacted about it, said the CBS producers liked it and approved it.

• Check out all these really creepy Indian dolls. I mean really creepy.

• The Little Marc Jacobs Store in Manhattan uses a Tipi in its window display

• Taylor Lautner, aka Jacob Black in the Twilight movies, comes to the shocking realization that Natives are just like everyone else! They hang out! They play basketball! Shocking!!

• Holier than Now talks about a new turban/headwrap trend and relates it to hipster headdresses.

• N.E.R.D. and Nelly Furtado's new video "Hot and Fun" has a bazillion headdresses and Native appropriations

• Broadway Bares (an annual fundraiser featuring broadway actors and dancers performing stripteases) featured an "Indian" baring all.

• Cage the Elephant has a new-ish music video featuring a headdress-clad dude for their song "In One Ear", and even an online contest to "win the headdress".

• Band "The Canon Logic" utilizes warpaint and a headdress in their new album art and advertising. 

• Zimbio has an image of Izia (a model)  and fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac at the launch of the new clothing line in Paris, France. Izia is wearing a full warbonnet and feathered dress.

• Shrinky Dinks (yes they're still around) is selling a "Wild West Party Pack"--i.e. Cowboys and Indians. Interestingly, the Indians have a range of skin tones, and are shown doing the "modern" activities, but also are all wearing feathers and doing stereotypical activities as well (peace pipes, tom toms, canoeing, etc)

•  Bossip shares a "Wild West" inspired photo shoot for the release of Playstation 3, which consists of a barely clothed model in a headdress (probs NSFW). What does that have to do with Playstation?

• My friend Katie at Whiskey Tango Foxtrot put together a catch-all post on cultural appropriation in fashion. Great stuff. 

I have more, but I thought this was a good start! Keep the tips coming, and thanks to everyone who contributed.

(Thanks Lici, Peggy, Sarah, Tanis, Liz, Katie, Laurie, Christina, Kannon, Denise, Ben, Mom, Mar, and Lauren)

The Music Festival Hipster Headdress Goes British

(image via Boston.com)

Well, it's official. The hipster headdress has gone British. Last week was the Glastonbury music festival in the UK, a huge music spectacular not unlike Coachella, or The Bamboozle, or Sasquatch! or Lightning in a Bottle here in the US. Boston.com posted an image of festival goers sporting the (no-longer) edgy hipster headdress, maddening, but pretty unsurprising, actually. It was only a matter of time.

However, not to be out done by their former subjects across the pond, these British hipsters took playing Indian to a whole new level. Observe the "tents" at this year's festival:

Yeah. Those are tipis. A whole lot of tipis. So while you're wasted, or high on something or another, gallivanting through the fields and communing with nature while rockin' out, you can "authenticate" your wild-man experience by coming back to your tipi--living like the original bad asses, those Indians who didn't give a damn, no rules, no "civilization", just one with life, man.

Snarky imaginative narrative aside, there is a really interesting dynamic of playing Indian in countries other than the US/Canada--there are "powwow" communities, especially in Germany, where participants make painstakingly "authentic" regalia, sing in drum groups, etc. That's a whole post in itself, but it raises the question of how these actions are perceived and interpreted in a country without Native Americans, lacking both the genocidal history or contemporary culture to provide context and understanding of their actions.

Not that people in the US, even with that context, have some greater understanding (or my blog wouldn't exist!), but it reminds me of the incident a few months ago when Harry Connick Jr was a guest judge on a show in Austrailia, and participants came out in blackface to perform Michael Jackson:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDlfgA7jfLE)

As an American, Connick Jr. was offended, and rightfully so. However, the Australian community shared no such outrage, because wearing blackface has no history in their country. There was a lot of back and forth debate, and there are any number of similar examples, but it goes to show that history and context is key in the understanding of racist actions.

Does it make it ok? absolutely not. Just like I'm not ok with british headdress wearers or a tipi village at a music festival overseas. Perpetuating stereotypes and erasing the current presence of Native people is never excusable in my book, even if it occurs thousands of miles away.

Boston.com Glastonbury slideshow: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/glastonbury_festival_2010.html

Earlier:

Educating Non-Natives at Lightning in a Bottle: http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/2010/06/educating-non-natives-at-lightning-in.html

But Why Can't I Wear a Hipster Headdress?: http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/2010/04/but-why-cant-i-wear-hipster-headdress.html

The Hipster Headdress Abounds at Coachella: http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/2010/04/hipster-headdress-abounds-at-coachella.html

Headdresses and Music Festivals go together like PB and...Racism?: http://nativeappropriations.blogspot.com/2010/06/headdresses-and-music-festivals-go.html



(Thanks to Stephen from Drawing on Indians, who sent me the pics. He did a great post on the topic as well, which can be found here.)

Random Appropriation of the Day! ($2,200 Backyard Tipi)

Tipster Lucia pointed me to this backyard "tepee" from Design Within Reach. It retails for $2,200, and is made by "Dave Ellis, who spent 10 years working in the canvas business before creating his own line of tents and tepees in 1982."

Here's the screenshot of the page (click for a bigger version):

The description reads:

Tepee

For adventurers of all ages, the classic Tepee (2008) is a simple solution for spending time outdoors with minimal impact on the surrounding landscape. This one was crafted for DWR Tools for Living by Dave Ellis, who spent 10 years working in the canvas business before creating his own line of tents and tepees in 1982. We chose his work because of his quality materials and construction that provides proper ventilation, flame resistance and reinforced stress points. What’s also unique about this design is the sewn-in floor liner that allows proper air flow, while ensuring that nothing accidentally leaves or enters the Tepee. This floor also makes it easier to see where the poles should be placed when building the Tepee. The floor liner is not waterproof, which Ellis did on purpose since material that breathes won’t kill the grass underneath. The exterior canvas is tightly woven, preshrunk 100% cotton Army Duck that’s finished with a Sunforger baked-in process to make the canvas mildew resistant and water repellent. Campfire songs and ghost stories not included.

"Campfire songs and ghost stories not included." At least it didn't say "war paint and headdresses not included"? Also note it's categorized under "Tepee--Outdoors--Play--Accessories". Look, they even offer "location" shots so you can see how it will look next to your expensive mid-century modern patio furniture:

or when you decide to lug it to a fake desert movie set:

look at that comforting glow. ha. This is definitely for a very specific demographic--it's a very small portion of America that can afford to spend $2200 on a backyard tent. Is there even a market for this?


DWR "Tepee": http://www.dwr.com/product/accessories/view-all/tepee.do?search=basic&keyword=tepee&sortby=ourPicks&page=1

(Thanks Lucia!)