Let's Talk About Pendleton

(look from Pendleton's new "Portland Collection" for Fall 2011. Source here.)

Last night I was cold. So cold, in fact, that I had to pull out not one, but two, of my Pendleton blankets to add some extra warmth to my bed. As I shook them out and laid them on my bed, I thought about how special these blankets are to me--one was a graduation gift, the other a thank you gift for serving on a panel about the "Future of Indian Education." In many Native communities, Pendleton blankets are associated with important events, and have been for hundreds of years. They are given as gifts at graduations, at powwow give-aways, as thank you gifts, in commemoration of births and deaths, you name it. In addition, I've always associated the patterns with Native pride--a way for Natives to showcase their heritage in their home decor, coats, purses, etc. There's something just distinctly Native about Pendleton to me.

(Stanford Native Graduation from a couple years ago)

But recently, Pendleton prints and fabrics have started popping up everywhere. It started with Opening Ceremony's Pendleton line in 2010, and now Urban Outfitters has started carrying a Pendelton line, celebrities are wearing Pendleton coats, and Native-themed home decor is apparently all the rage. Now Pendleton has announced their newest collaboration, The Portland Collection, which fashion blogs are proclaiming will be the big thing for 2011.

(from Opening Ceremony's line)

(Urban Outfitters)

 (urban outfitters)

(via Fashion Squad)

So what's the problem? I openly admit that a lot of these designs are adorable, and I would fully sport them (that bag! I love!), if I had a spare $1000 or so. I can't cry straight up cultural appropriation, because...well, it's complicated.

Pendelton has been supplying Natives with blankets and robes with Indian designs since the late 1800's, which the "history" section of their website outlines:

A study of the color and design preferences of local and Southwest Native Americans resulted in vivid colors and intricate patterns. Trade expanded from the Nez Perce nation near Pendleton to the Navajo, Hopi and Zuni nations. These Pendleton blankets were used as basic wearing apparel and as a standard of value for trading and credit among Native Americans. The blankets also became prized for ceremonial use.

It's almost a symbiotic relationship--they saw a market in Native communities, and Native communities stepped up and bought, traded, and sold the blankets, incorporating them into "traditional" cultural activities. Pendleton has also maintained close ties with Native communities and causes, making commemorative blankets for organizations like the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Indian Education Association. They work with Native artists to design the special edition blankets, and even donate some of the proceeds to the causes.

 (NIEA 40th anniversary blanket)

But then, on the other hand, they go off and do things like design a $5000 blanket with White Buffalo hair, which many tribes consider extremely sacred and definitely off-limits to commercial sale.

I do appreciate Pendleton's relationship with Native communities. I love my blankets, and love even more what they represent.

 

However, seeing hipsters march down the street in Pendleton clothes, seeing these bloggers ooh and ahh over how "cute" these designs are, and seeing non-Native models all wrapped up in Pendleton blankets makes me upset. It's a complicated feeling, because I feel ownership over these designs as a Native person, but on a rational level I realize that they aren't necessarily ours to claim. To me, it just feels like one more thing non-Natives can take from us--like our land, our moccasins, our headdresses, our beading, our religions, our names, our cultures weren't enough? you gotta go and take Pendleton designs too?

 (source)

Then there's the whole economic stratification issue of it too, these designs are expensive. The new Portland collection ranges from $48 for a tie to over $700 for a coat, the Opening Ceremony collection was equally, if not more, costly. It almost feels like rubbing salt in the wound, when poverty is rampant in many Native communities, to say "oh we designed this collection based on your culture, but you can't even afford it!"

So I don't know. Are all of these designs cultural appropriation? Should I ignore the twinge in my stomach every time I see a Pendleton pattern in the Urban Outfitters window? Should I embrace it as the mainstream fashion scene finally catching up with what we Natives have known since the 1800's?

Personally, the bottom line is that I would rather associate Pendleton with Native pride and commemorating important events...

(our panel last year)

...than with hipsters, high fashion, and flash-in-the-pan trends. But I'm obviously conflicted. What do you think? Are these designs and trends ok, or do I have a right to be upset?

(Thanks to Precious for getting me thinking about this!)

Daily Encounters and Activist Fatigue: The Girl with the Headdress Shirt

Yesterday morning I walked into my 7:15 am "Total Body Workout" class at the gym, laughing and joking with my friend. As I turned to get my hand weights and mat, my gaze fell upon a girl in the class...wearing this shirt.

I sighed and wrinkled my nose, but turned back to my friend to continue our conversation. A few minutes before class started, my friend whispered "Did you see her shirt?! Wasn't that on your blog?" I nodded in response.

As class went on, in between sweating through sit ups and lunges, I kept catching her reflection in the mirror behind me. Each time sent a twinge through my stomach, a quick moment of discomfort and unease. I wanted to say something. I wanted to tell her how I was feeling. But the problem was, even in rehearsals in my head, I couldn't think of how to go about talking to her about the shirt.

 In the grand scheme of images on this blog, this particular shirt isn't that bad. I mean, I can easily sit here and tear it apart--how it represents a stereotype, how the cartoon-izing (I think I just made that word up) of the headdress takes away from it's sacredness and power, commodifying it and making it into a mass consumer good, how the blank, empty space where a head/face should be is representative of decontextualizing the headdress and separating it from the people and places where it belongs...but anyway, it's not an image of an Indian holding aloft a beer bong, or a severed Indian head, or any number of other blatantly racist images. She wasn't wearing a headdress. She was wearing a shirt that she probably bought at Urban Outfitters without a second thought.

But, as I've talked about so many times before, these seemingly benign images have just as much power to create and perpetuate negative stereotypes as the blatantly racist ones. Because of all these images she's seen and encountered in her life, she probably never would have thought that the dark haired girl struggling with push ups in front of her was a Native person who might take offense to her shirt.

So, you're probably wondering, what did I say? What did I do?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Even I, who day after day on this blog can spout the reasons why continued cultural appropriation and misrepresentations of our communities are wrong and harmful, couldn't find the right words to tell an undergrad why her shirt is hurtful to me. 

Not that I'm always silent. I once made a Harvard student in an Indian costume at a local pizza place almost cry when I confronted him, and another time at a football tailgate I physically ripped a headdress off a huge guy's head and stomped on it in the mud, after he wouldn't take it off when I asked nicely (That technique is NOT recommended).

But it's often the daily encounters, the seemingly minor interactions, images, and subtle messages that give me pause. Do I call out every classmate that substitutes the word "powwow" for "meeting"? Do I rip down every indie band poster advertising their latest gig with an image of an Indian? Do I tell the girl in the headdress shirt at my gym class that her shirt hurts me?

Some days I do, some days I don't--or I can't, or I won't--it's a combination. Because this work gets tiring. It's a never ending battle, and some days I'm too tired to fight.

My friend's solution? She thinks I should make up business cards with my blog address on it, so I can just hand one to the offender and say something like "I think you should check out this blog, it might give you a reason to rethink your shirt choice."

So I'm curious--since I don't purport to have all the answers, I'll turn it over to you, readers. Do you have any techniques for dealing with these daily interactions? Do you have a way of approaching someone that cuts defensiveness and allows for your voice to be heard? Stories of encounters with hipster headdresses?

I do have a few techniques I fall back on, but I think it's time we have a step-by-step "how to" guide for dealing with these incidents. So let's generate some thoughts, and I'll compile it all together.

Next time, Girl with the Headdress Shirt, I'll be ready.

The Ultimate Tribal Fashion Roundup (June 2010 version)

(TNA Spring Catalogue)

It's been a while since my last tribal fashion roundup back in March, and even longer since I first questioned the emergence of Native themes in fashion back in January. The trends don't seem to be slowing down, and if the prevalence of the hipster headdress is any indication, they might be sticking around for even longer. So there may be an Ultimate Tribal Fashion Roundup July, and August, and September...we'll have to wait and see.

Just to get it out of the way early in the post, or in case you need a refresher, here's why all this is not cool: But Why Can't I Wear a Hipster Headdress?  The Last point is particularly relevant here, so I'll repost:

Well then, Miss Cultural Appropriation Police, what CAN I wear?

• If you choose to wear something Native, buy it from a Native. There are federal laws that protect Native artists and craftspeople who make genuine jewelry, art, etc. (see info here about The Indian Arts and Crafts Act). Anything you buy should have a label that says "Indian made" or "Native made". Talk to the artist. Find out where they're from. Be diligent. Don't go out in a full "costume". It's ok to have on some beaded earrings or a turquoise ring, but don't march down the street wearing a feather, with loaded on jewelry, and a ribbon shirt. Ask yourself: if you ran into a Native person, would you feel embarrassed or feel the need to justify yourself? As commenter Bree pointed out, it's ok to own a shirt with kimono sleeves, but you wouldn't go out wearing full kabuki makeup to a bar. Just take a minute to question your sartorial choices before you go out.  

These images are gathered from all walks of fashion and the far corners of the internets. Beneath each photo I've put the source and any other pertinent information. Most of the links have many more photos, but I just picked one or two for you to get the gist of it, so click through for more. Ready? Here we go...

Grazia Australia photo shoot 

DIY headdress from Bleach Black...it's still not ok even if you make it yourself. sorry. 

Vice Magazine "Modern Primitives" Shoot

American Apparel Look Book

"Dead Man" inspired shoot
(That's that movie with Johnny Depp, right? so they're not calling Natives dead?)

It's invaded accessories too:

Hermes Scarf

(And I had posted this other Hermes Scarf earlier)

Spool 72., which I've also posted about earlier, has even more bags made out of "vintage Native American rugs" on their site now

Marc Jacobs "Navajo-print" High Tops

Mosley Tribes Lyndel Beaded Sunglasses

Nicole Richie's House of Harlow Moccassins (sold at Kitson) 

Seen on the Cherry Blossom Girl Blog

Kitson e-mail newsletter--Buyers Picks: Tribal Accessories

Window displays at Juicy Couture Manhattan (they had the same ones in SF too)

Headdress T-shirt at Blush in Manhattan

Urban Outfitters "Obey Navajo" Shirt

There are so many more, but hopefully this gives a good overview of some of the stuff out there. I'll try and do some of these roundups a little more often throughout the summer, and as always, continue to send things to me as you see them. 

I've realized this post is sadly devoid of snarky commentary! I'll make up for it in the next one, promise. 

(Thanks to Lici, Tasha, Jesse, Natalie, Katie, Sarah, Mollie, Tanis, Consuelo, Lisa, and anyone else I missed!) 

It starts with a trip to Urban Outfitters

I was killing some time a few days ago and wandered into Urban Outfitters in Harvard Square. It's no secret that many hipsters have an obsession with all things Native (more on that in another post), but I was a little surprised at how many examples I found. The following were in the home decorations section.

This dream catcher (in such traditional neon colors!) retailed for $10, on the low end for Urban, and was made in India (ha).


These slippers/moccasins were in the same section, and came in brown and red as well. I saw them as a take on Alaska Native mukluks, though the use of geometric diamonds is a bit southwest/plains.


Finally, down in the bargain basement, I found this "totem pole jewelry stand." You can see they weren't huge sellers.

I got home and tried to look up these three on their website, to get product names, etc. and had no luck, but did manage to find a few other examples online:

The Booty Buddy Blanket The comments section refers to it as "the hipster snuggie."

Tribal V Neck

Leather Navaho cuff: there is a lot to say about this one, not least of which is the antiquated spelling of Navajo and the plains-style beading.

even more examples: Native Socks, Cement Chief Necklace (yes that is a tiny headdress), and Geo Beaded Cuff. There are more, if you go to their website and just search "Native" or "Tribal."