"A Lot of Our Traditional Clothing, We Had to Fight to Keep"—Fashion Designer Norma Baker–Flying Horse
Designer Norma Baker–Flying Horse (enrolled citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation) grew up loving toy high heels and secondhand accessories. "I was the most stylish six-year-old on the cattle ranch," she says. This year, Paris Fashion Week featured her work. "To be a Native American designer showing for the Fashion Week Studio was amazing. I felt like a childhood dream had come true." Happy Women's History Month!
The REDress Project on the National Mall Draws Attention to Life and Death Situations in Indian Country
According to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Native American women are ten times more likely to be murdered and four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than the national average. Yet the issue has received little attention outside Indian Country. Artist Jaime Black (Métis) calls attention to the crisis through her installation "The REDress Project," on view in Washington throughout March. On March 21, she and other speakers will discuss ending violence against Native women at a symposium at the National Museum of the American Indian.