I thought this one deserved its own post outside of the hipster headdresses. Observe the outright ignorant racism of The Sun in the UK: (original post: here) Notice 4 things: 1. The headline: Katy’s “Poca face”? 2. The text: “Katy Perry looks a sight for squaw eyes”? and she could have “doubled for Pocahontas”? 3. Her pose: please tell me …
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 …
The Jezebel Fashion Post that keeps on giving
 (Jen Mussari’s now iconic image 🙂 ) I’ve come across some awesome blog posts in response to the Jezebel piece (found here) on Native fashion that Lisa at Sociological Images pulled together with images from this blog. The comment thread on the piece was really interesting, with people debating what should be deemed “ok” what is “offensive” and some just …
Random Appropriation of the Day! (Indian Smurfs)
Virtue B. sent over these smurf figurines from her recent trip to New York. They were posed to look like they were acting out a scene from a movie with cowboys and Indians. This guy’s wearing a buffalo headdress and leggings/loin cloth combo While this guy’s got an angry expression, some war paint, and a feathered spear. (see the smurf …
Mardi Gras Indians: can cultural appropriation occur on the margins?
(image via http://library.duke.edu) Last week, the New York Times published a really interesting article concerning Mardi Gras Indians, specifically looking at the possibility of  the “Indians” copyrighting their costumes so their images can’t be used in things like calendars, promotional materials, etc, without their consent. I’ll get to that issue in a second post, but I think the entire concept …
Random Appropriation of the Day!
Via my friend Allison’s friend Kip–taken in Versailles, France. If you can’t tell, the orange peel is wearing a headdress, and the flavor is called “Indien” (you can click to make it bigger). It’s flavored with grenadine, which gives it the pinkish-red color. I was sitting here, trying to figure out the connection between grenadine and Indians–like were pomegranates indigenous …
Tribal Fashion Roundup!
(http://www.etsy.com/shop/coyotepheonix) I’ve gotten a few tips this week about more tribal fashion appropriations, so I thought I would compile a few of them into a single post, because let’s be honest, I’m a little lazy this week. I found the image above thanks to Lanova posting my hipster headdress piece on a blog that “loved” this headdress (thanks girl!). It’s …
North American Indians: a step by step guide to "playing Indian"
My friend Katie is currently in her first year of teaching 4th grade on the Rosebud Sioux reservation in South Dakota (go Katie!), and she sent me a scanned copy of this ridiculous book that was in her classroom library. I’ll let her give the context: “IÂ finally started going through my classroom’s library and was pretty appalled to find this …
Random Appropriation of the Day!
“Headdress Bobby Pins” from lulus.com. Description reads: Dress up those lovely locks with our Headdress Bobby Pins! Choose from a pair of either pewter or brass pins for a cute new look. Features a chieftain coin at the tip of a 2″ long pin. Coin has a .5″ diameter. Comes in a set of two. Man made materials. Imported. Headdress …
Appropriations at Disney World Part 3: Disney Wilderness Lodge
yeah, that’s a Navajo rug coke machine. Welcome to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge! The pictures that follow are all from the lobby of the hotel, which describes its decor as: Taking inspiration from the early 1900s—a time when the spirit of the American pioneer soared—and cues from Native American cultures, the theme of being in harmony with nature winds through Disney’s …