Native American designers fight cultural caricatures

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/30/living/native-american-fashion-appropriation/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

The author, Emanuella Grinberg, writes about the sterotypical way Native Americans are represented in today's pop culture. She uses logos by citing specific cases including a No Doubt music video where gewen Stefani sits on a horse in a sacred Native American headress and a Victoria's Secret fashion show that features a model in tribal lingerie and a floor-length headress. In addition, many fashion retailers like Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters carelessly use tribal symbols without knowing their meaning or significance and mass produce them on clothing to be sold to masses. The author talks about how Native Americans resent being represented as outdated caricatures and having their cultural traditons and symbols exploited for the profit of non-native companies. In contrast, she also cites successful collaborations between Native Americans and large companies such as Nike during the creation the N7 sneaker. She ends on a hopeful note, citing a quotation from a Native American singer that says, "We need allies who may not be from our community, but know our community because someone educated him. That's what's going to help change how others see us."