Fashion weeks moved to the digital space with Coronavirus and, while that allows also ordinary people to enjoy the shows, the traditional four weeks of runways in New York, London, Milan and Paris have turned into an excruciatingly long runway, with collections popping up here and there every day in a never-ending circle, with the consequence that many of us are simply losing interest in it all. There are actually more intriguing fashion-related moments happening off the runway.
Last week for example Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo people from New Mexico and the first Native American Cabinet Secretary in US history, donned an indigenous dress at her swearing-in ceremony in Washington.
In 2018 Haaland made history winning, together with Sharice Davids, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation from Kansas, seats in the House of Representatives. At the 2020 election Haaland was elected to serve her second term in Congress representing the First District and in December it was announced that president Joe Biden had chosen her as Interior Secretary.
At her swearing-in ceremony in Washington, Haaland donned a sky-blue ribbon skirt. Worn on special occasions, the ribbon skirt is a sacred garment and the ribbons often have special meanings connected with the wearer. In this case Haaland's skirt featured an embroidered decorative motif of butterflies, symbolizing an uplifting message, and a cornstalk, hinting at Haaland's enrolled membership of the Pueblo of Laguna, surrounded by four-pointed stars, representing the souls of the departed looking down and protecting their relatives.
The rainbow coloured-background represents instead a unity of people: when she testified in February at her confirmation hearing, Haaland stated indeed: "I hope this nomination would be an inspiration for Americans moving forward together as one nation and creating opportunities for all of us".
Moccasin boots, dragonfly earrings by Pat Pruitt, a Laguna Pueblo metalsmith, and a turquoise bead necklace accessorized her look. The ribbon skirt was designed by Indigenous company ReeCreeations. Its founder, Agnes Woodward, Plains Cree from Kawacatoose First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada, and the daughter of a Residential school survivor and a Sixties scoop survivor, was racially abused for being a Native as a young girl and felt ashamed about her identity.
As a grown up, she started making the ribbon skirts and integrating in their motifs, colours and ribbons the personal experiences of the wearer as a way to reclaim her identity. Woodward wrote on the company's Facebook page: "Photos of Deb Haaland proudly wearing the ribbon skirt I designed for her brings me so many emotions that are difficult to describe. It is such an honor to see an Indigenous woman be sworn in as the first Native American Cabinet head (…). The ribbon skirt reminds us of the matriarchal power we carry as Indigenous women. They carry stories of survival, resilience, adaption, and sacredness."
"As survivors of genocide we wear our ribbon skirts to stay grounded in our teachings, to stay connected to the earth and our ancestors. Wearing it in this day and age is an act of self-empowerment and reclamation of who we are and that gives us the opportunity to proudly make bold statements in front of others who sometimes refuse to see us. It allows us to be our authentic selves unapologetically. This is extremely important to me because when I was a little girl, the hate and racism I experienced as a First Nations person left me feeling shame."
Wooodward made a point: Haaland honoured heritage, while sending a message of matriarchal empowerment to Indigenous women. After the colonisation, Native American women went from being central figures and decision-makers in their tribal nations to victims of sexual and physical assault at the hands of white men. Traditional gender balance in the tribal nations was shaken, but in the last two years we saw some steps towards restoring it: all the Native American women running in elections, such as Ruth Buffalo who won a seat in North Dakota's House of Representatives in 2018, show there is definitely a movement for Native American women to reclaim their roles, almost reconnecting with an ancestral strength and power.
Haaland has the will to make indigenous women visible once again in power places and the possibility of representing through them all those people that history tried to erase.
This is not the first time Haaland opted for traditional dress: at the swearing-in ceremony in 2019 she donned a traditional Pueblo dress (a manta or cotton knee-length dress fastened at the right shoulder with a narrow woven belt wrapped around the waist with a cloth blouse underneath it). At Joe Biden's inauguration in January, she wore a yellow below-the-knee ribbon skirt with ribbons in green, red, and red shades, gifted by 19-year-old designer Bella Aiukli Cornell of Aiukli Designs.
One trend that will definitely be emerging in future (well, actually it has been emerging for quite a while now), is the power of one's background and personal history, often acknowledged via bespoke pieces made by dedicated artisans.
By wearing these pieces or jewelry by Native American artists and designers often incorporating turquoise, a sacred gemstone for Native Americans, Haaland promotes them, making a statement about her roots.
But, while we should take a note about Haaland's style as expression of her identity and her will to empower other Native American women, we shouldn't forget that her political decisions will be more important than her clothes. Haaland has indeed showed a great committment to the environment: as a congresswoman, she sponsored and co-led bills addressing climate change.
Respecting Mother Earth, a feminine life source, is a key aspect of Native American culture and Haaland opposes all new fossil fuel infrastructure, oil and gas drilling on federal lands and supports renewable energy, positions that brought a few Republicans (mainly senators who have major conflicts of interests as they took campaign cash from the oil and gas industry, such as John Barrasso of Wyoming, who in his full federal career, received over one million dollars from oil and gas firms and their employees; North Dakota senator John Hoeven, who owns dozens of oil well interests and Senator Steve Daines of Montana who received a major boost from the oil and gas industry in his career) to ask her hostile questions at her confirmation hearing
Her background and passion for the environment confirm that Haaland remains an excellent choice as Interior Secretary: the Department of Interior oversees nine bureaus and small offices, from the Bureau of Land Management, Fish & Wildlife Service, and National Park Service to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education, departments that impact Native Americans. The department is also responsible for overseeing Indigenous land held in trust by the federal government, defending tribal sovereignty, and running the Indian Health Service.
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