(Jacoby Ellsbury via Boston.com) Every Wednesday (well, almost every Wednesday) for the past year and a half, a group of my cohort-mates and I have played trivia at an Irish pub in Harvard Square. It’s our weekly tradition, and we’re pretty good. Like we place first, a lot. But that’s just an aside. 😉 Anyway, in the course of our …
Miley Cyrus Enjoys Dream Catchers, Apparently.
(via StyleBistro) Â Miss Miley Cyrus was recently inked with her fifth tattoo, a dream catcher along her ribcage. It’s supposedly to protect her four siblings, or something like that. Honestly, dream catchers are probably one of the most appropriated and exploited Native images–you see them everywhere. So I’m not supremely bothered by the tattoo, but it is annoying. However, …
Lee Bogle and "Native American Love"
Happy Valentines Day everyone! Last year I posted a bunch of vintage valentines with Native imagery, and the Vintage Valentine Museum has a bunch more that are worth a click. This year I thought I would share the “art” of Lee Bogle, whose images have become synonymous with “Native American Love” (just google it, you’ll see). My friends apparently find …
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 …
The Ubiquitous "Eskimo"
 (Hipster band One EskimO…they’ll get a whole post on their own soon. So many problems.) Hi Friends! Yes, I’m back. I have a litany of excuses, but you don’t care! So back to the Native Appropriations! Since Boston is on a record-breaking snow streak (already over 60 inches this season), I thought I would pull together a post about the …
Call For Proposals: Harvard University’s Nation Building Course
Hi Everyone, I hope the holidays have been treating you well! I, personally, am quite happy to be home in California and not in the blizzard currently happening in Massachusetts. I wanted to share something that comes from the academic side of my life, this spring I’m the teaching fellow for the Harvard University Native American Program’s course called “Nation …
Programming Notes
(The Indian Head test card, a symbol of programming breaks, AND an appropriation. Clever, right?) Hi Friends,It’s finals time at school, which means, of course, I’ve putting extra time into the blog (procrastination!). I realized I’ve been making subtle updates to Native Appropriations over the last few months, but hadn’t really shared…so I thought I’d let y’all know: www.NativeAppropriations.com: I …
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 …
An Acceptable Ignorance
(Photo (c) Adam Sings in the Timber) AK note: when I get frustrated in my courses at school, or I have a lot to get off my chest, I write narratives like the one below. They’re an outlet for me, I write them like I’m writing to post them here, but then I usually keep them to myself, in a …
Random Appropriation of the Day! ("Tiger Lily Teapot")
Reader Michaela spotted this one while christmas shopping online. Called the “Tiger Lily Teapot”, she sports the awesome stereotypes of braids, a headband, a feather, and “indian” designs and colors. The description (via Fred Flare) reads: This darling lil’ lady is outfitted with a small interior metal steeper and her head becomes the tea cup when you remove her feathered …