Flashback Friday | Turtle Concepts and Creating Mechanism of Persistence

Two years ago I had the great opportunity to attend the annual Canadian Aboriginal Festival held in Ontario. In conjunction with the large powwow, Turtle Concepts hosts a fashion show to highlight First Nations fashion designers.

Headed up by Dave Jones of the Garden River First Nation, Turtle Concepts has hosted the Fashion Pavilion at the Canadian Aboriginal Festival for over a decade.

Flashback Friday | Heard Museum Vintage Fashion Show

Two years ago I posted about the Heard Museum's NU (Native + You) event which featured a show of vintage fashions from Robert Black’s boutique (Fashion By Robert Black) paired with traditional and contemporary jewelry from the Heard Museum Shop.

In addition to showcasing dresses made by Lloyd Kiva New in Scottsdale in the 1950s, the show also featured designs by Dolce and Gabbana, St. John, and Bob Mackie. I think we need more vintage fashion shows. We're so quick to throw things away these days, I like the idea of upcycling and reinvesting in 'an old dress.' Secondly, we need more fashion shows that showcase Native American designers alongside American designers like this one did. Click here to see the video and tell me what you think.

Flashback Friday | Urban Outfitter Take-Down

Ah man, it is hard to believe that it has already been one year since Adrienne Keene wrote that wonderful, absolutely beautiful post "Urban Outfitters is Obsessed with Navajos."

I gushed over Keene's take-down here, and fell in love with the Navajo Nation for trademarking their name. Brilliant. In fact, the UO case made my 2011 Top 10 Native Appropriations in Fashion list.

Flashback Friday | Dustin Martin, SOLO, and the Future

Two years ago I was introduced to streetwear artist Dustin Martin via the internet. He was making headlines as a Columbia University student who was majoring in Anthropology and making and remixing our ideas of Native fashion.

I was excited to learn about him, because we share similar perspectives on Native American-made, and Native American-inspired fashion. He sees fashion as a means to overturn preconceived notions about Indigenous cultures, and he infuses the clothing he makes with a distinctive intellectual side.

Flashback Friday | Miss Navajo Nation

It's that time of year again! Time to Navajo-up for the 66th Annual Navajo Nation Fair. Held every year in the nation's capital, Window Rock, Arizona, the Fair lasts an entire week, and brings with it a rodeo, a powwow, a parade, an arts exhibition, a concert, and one very cool Miss Navajo Nation competition.

One year ago, I wrote a blog post about the history of the Miss Navajo competition.

Flashback Friday | Indian Lore, Not Really

Two years ago I came across this little ditty from Sociological Images: Vintage Levi’s Brochure Provides a “Round-Up of Western Indian Lore.”

It is a crazy mash up of wild stereotypes and Native appropriations. I actually like to use this post in some of my classes, because the overt racism and ignorance is really obvious.  It is a fantastic example of the skeletons in our (American) closet. And, this brochure was published only 58 years ago.

Flashback Friday | The Strange History Continues

One year ago I posted about the strange history of the Indian Trade Blanket.

It was actually a re-post from Slate.com who looked at the 'interesting exchanges' between Pendleton and Native nations, and now, high fashion hipsters. Pendleton is still going full-force forward, collaborating with various clothing companies, to place themselves as an important fashion icon.

Flashback Friday | Revisiting the Past

I'm instituting a new tradition for Beyond Buckskin - Flashback Friday.

I've been writing on this blog for almost three years now, and some really cool posts of the past end up just archived and new followers don't get the chance to really scope them out. So to keep BB always sexy and relevant, I'll be posting a 'Flashback' post every Friday, where I look to the past, find a cool post that happened approximately the same time of year, and bring it forward.