October 2011
57 posts
“WHITE PERSON IN A HEADDRESS ALERT. #DUPONT”
– White person
This Halloween, you can make sure your costume's...
A Sampling of Racism for Sale
Adrienne K of NativeAppropriations posted this article on the costumes she found on the Spirit Halloween website but a picture’s worth a thousand words.
Sexy Indian
Tribal Trouble Indian
Indian Brave
Indian Princess
PocaHottie
More Truth from NativeAppropriations
Open Letter to the PocaHotties and Indian Warriors this Halloween (original here):
Dear Person that decided to dress up as an Indian for Halloween, I was going to write you an eloquent and well-reasoned post today about all the reasons why it’s not ok to dress up as a Native person for Halloween—talk about the history of“playing Indian” in our country, point to the dangers...
Jackpot
No headdress necessary
…
Rachel Zoe 2010
Sofia Koppola 2005
Open letter from NU's Dean of Students
To members of the Northwestern community:
The end of October is quickly approaching, and along with the falling leaves and cooler nights come the Halloween celebrations on our campus and in our community. These celebrations provide opportunities for students to socialize as well as make positive contributions to our community and the Evanston community as a whole. Two notable examples of the...
“-We could all be Native peoples. I could be a Viking person because I’m...”
– Overheard in a University Student Center. #Halloween
OMG I SAW SOMEONE IN A HEADDRESS AT UNION POOL...
#brooklyn
too bad the lighting was all romantic and shit and my friend couldn’t get a good photo.
Jezebel Interviews Daniella Puneda/DW Diaz
Comedienne Daniella Puneda’s character DW Diaz premieres her offensive fashion line in the video in the last post. This is a must-watch!
Jezebel covers the story and interviews Puneda here.
Part of the interview is particularly relevant to this blog:
“Jenna Sauers: So, your Navajo video was just fantastic. Where did you get the idea to do that?
Daniella Pineda: I kind of noticed,...
"I appreciate it for being both stupid AND...
Holy SHIT this is real!
“Stay in the Light is an adventure and business embarked upon by two friends. When we’re not designing and crafting headdresses in our studio, we collaborate with feather artists and artisans from around the world, to bring you great headbands straight from their workshops, homes and hands. We have personal relationships with everyone we work with, and can...
Colorlines Article on "We're a Culture, Not a... →
Blackamazon is too much Repost →
Check out the whole post for some great posters from an anti-cultural appropriation campaign.
SO ON POINT.
There’s more:
[Image: A young Arab man holding up a photograph of a white person offensively dressed in stereotyped “Sheik” clothing with a pretend bomb duct taped to their chest, holding a plastic cup and smiling. The text says: We’re a culture, not a…
Halloween is Coming - Headdress XXXTravaganza On...
This isn’t a white person but is a great way to kick off the Halloween headdress season.
“Halloween Party at Opening Ceremony in Tokyo Japan”
Is Harmony Korine's New Fashion Ad Crazy Offensive...
Read the full article and watch the film here.
Some people are on the warpath about Harmony Korine’s new branded short film “Snowballs,” backing Native American-inspired fall clothing from fashion line Proenza Schouler. Adjectives used to describe the clip include “racist,” “disturbing” and “bizarre.” And that’s just the first...
WatchSnowballs
Holler at FUCKED UP Reporting
Obviously the internets are all a’twitter with the latest on the URBN scandal (see post below). And, just as obviously, reporting on widespread upset at cultural appropriation wouldn’t be complete without misrepresentation of some sort.
The Daily Mail, in actually a pretty nice article about the issue including a photo of a Native American woman holding a PUPPY (!!!!!), uses the...
Update to Urban Outfitters Scandal
First of all thank you to the MANY people who have been forwarding me many emails about the recent developments in the demands made of Urban Outfitters to remove exploitative designations on their clothing and accessories - most notably, usage of the word “Navajo” to describe their products. Change.org has a petition that you can sign, demanding .. you guessed it.. change! From the...
White Children in Headdresses (and war paint!)
“i’ve been playing up my exotic look recently. it’s really been...”
Celeb kids in headdresses
From Suri’s Burn Book:
“Here are some photos of the Klum-Seal children dressed up as Indians for a pumpkin patch outing. I honestly don’t know if these costumes are an innocent homage to American diversity and acceptance or an offensive display of ethnic stereotypes.”
(Note: white person in a headdress in the background.)
More Etsy!
You can buy it here. If you haven’t been reading this tumblr.
"We look so darn FIERCE don't ya think?"
Jezebel's "survey of fashion's latest problematic... →
"Urban Outfitters is Obsessed with Navajos"
Great Racialist article on the profit Urban Outfitters is making off of “Navajo” prints and branding things as “Navajo.”
“I spent an hour or so last week scrolling through the pages of the website, and adding anything to my cart that was “Native inspired” or had a tribal name in the description. I got through JUST the women’s clothes and accessories (no mens or...
From Regretsy
Oy
WatchNot specifically about headdresses, but about cultural appropriation nonetheless:
Words from a Taino man on Columbus Day (Credit: DemocracyNow!)
What's sexier? A headdress or a skinny naked boy?
White People who claim Native Ancestry
Obviously race is a social construct, and one of the ways it is constructed is that you “are” inherently “something.” The reality of who we are and what our racial/ethnic makeup looks like is far more complicated than the black-white binary allows room for in the United States. The truth is that the vast majority of us are mixed, and it is probably true that some white...
An Open Letter to URBN on Columbus Day
Full letter here. Exerpted:
My primary concern with your company is the level on which you are engaging in cultural and religious appropriation. None of your products are actually made by Indigenous nations, nor were any Native peoples involved in the production or design process. On the contrary, you have created cheap knock-off trinkets made in factories overseas. Selling imported plastic...
This is going to launch me into appropriations of...
Get ready. Get excited. It’s coming.
Fierce.
Someecards for the win
Let's Celebrate Columbus Day by Walking Into... →
Bombarding this Tumblr in honor of the HOLIDAY
I know she’s racially ambiguous but the bikini and the headdress say “white person in a headdress” to me.
Columbus Day.
I think that’s all I need to say about that.
Note the Tshirt saying something about a Spirit
Wearing a headdress means you are closer to spirits. Duh. Have you never seen Disney’s Pocahontas?
And I respected Ke$ha so much before this...
More feathers
I’m actually interested in this feathering trend. I am not totally clear if it falls under my “headdress” category all of the time.
Clearly, sometimes it does, like in ads like this:
(Oh goodness)
But the NYTimes had an article on feathering that made me think maybe some people just like putting feathers in their hair… and Refinery 29 has a whole slideshow of feather...
