Fast Facts Inquiry Research over Native American Fashion Controversies

Native American's have always been known for their intricate beading and weaving. They use many different types of colors and fabrics to make their work look as detailed as possible. Recently, there have been many controversies over designers "using and making fun" of the Native American style of clothing. For example, a designer named Bethany Yellowtail recently created a tribal printed dress and another designer copied her. Bethany states “The dress as stated on my website embodies a Crow design from my great great grandmother.” Bethany's grandmother was a part of a Native American tribe so she feels as if she has a connection to Native American tribes. Therefore, she likes to use their "style" into her work. She claims that she is honoring and preserving the work of Native Americans by using it in her work. The other designer who made a similar dress to Bethany's claims that she has always used Native American designs in her work. Bethany claims this statement to be false. Below are pictures from a BBC News Article:

On the left is Bethany Yellowtail's Dress and on the right is KTZ's "copied" dress

This is a beaded bag from Bethany's Grandmother. This is what the tribal printed dress was based off of.

Another example of a recent fashion controversy dealing with Native Americans is with the designer, Ralph Lauren. He recently created an ad which was of a darker skinned man with braids in his hair. The man in the ad was wearing a "western shirt" and a bandana. Ralph Lauren posted this ad to his website and was using it in magazines. This ad caused a lot of commotion amongst Native American tribe members. Ruth Hopkins, a member of the Spirit Lake Tribe in North Dakota states, “Ralph Lauren has been doing this my whole life. He is a repeat offender. Cultural appropriation is apparently his thing.” Ralph Lauren was embarrassed because so many Native Americans had complained about the offensiveness of this ad. He was so embarrassed that he removed the ad off of the website. Below is a picture of the ad from a Huffington Post News Article:

This is a picture of the Ralph Lauren ad. In it you can see the "stereotypical portrayal" of a Native American Indian. 

Today, I learned so many new things about the different types of fashion from Native Americans. It was really interesting to see how many people really care about their culture and want to preserve it. I think that the many fashion controversies that are happening today are a result of Native Americans wanting to preserve their culture.