Indigenous creativity takes the stage at Native Nations Fashion Night

As the fourth annual Native Nations Fashion Night neared, designer Delina White offered MPR News a tip. 

“It’s got a Victorian gothic influence,” said White. 

White is from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and is the creator of the Native Nations Fashion Night. She said in planning for this year’s event that designers wanted to do “something mysterious” to honor shared Native values and beliefs.

The theme for the evening was “Messengers, Protectors and Great Mysteries.”

The event was held at Quincy Hall in northeast Minneapolis and showcased the work of a half dozen designers, welcoming hundreds of guests for a night of Indigenous fashion.

How does a Victorian gothic influence show up in an Indigenous fashion show?  

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“A strong basis in romantic, elegant, Victorian gothic using many material textures, colors, embellishments and accessories,” said White. “You can expect to see veils, silk black roses, platform boots and indigenous natural materials including sage, cedar, red-willow, wampum, bone, bull horn and white tail deer sheds.” 

Emcee Grace Goldtooth welcomed hundreds who came out for the evening to celebrate Indigenous design and opportunity.

Christy Ruby is a Tlinget designer from Ketchikan, Ala., and her collection opened the show. Ruby showed a collection of colored furs she sews using seal and otter skin — materials used by Native people in Alaska for countless generations.

To demonstrate the importance of environmental sustainability for Native nations, Ruby took audiences through a short theatrical presentation of subsistence hunting practices.

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Model Brady Fairbanks, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, walked the runway for Ruby’s collection. He wore a hand-sewn fur vest and gloves made from skins of animals hunted by the designer herself.

“I’m very honored to wear this beautiful vest and gloves,” said Fairbanks. “This is the first time I’ve done anything like this.”

Model Jada Aljubailah walked one of the looks from the Restorative Apparel Co-design collection wearing a patterned gold lace dress with Ojibwe floral designs, red willow necklace and birch bark earrings. White worked with designers Sage Davis, Elizabeth Bye and Masnoureh Nikookar to create the collection.

Dakota dress maker Rebecca Mousseau, Spirit Lake Dakota, riffed on the evening’s themes around mystery through her use of color, design and ribbons, putting her collection of dresses and skirts on the runway.

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a citizen of the White Earth Nation, made her debut on the runway as a model wearing a glittering black velvet dress by Rebecca Mousseau.

“I love it,” said Flanagan. “It’s velvet, it’s punk rock and I feel amazing. That’s how I always feel wearing anything she designs.”

Last year, Flanagan, on behalf of Gov. Tim Walz declared April 23 Native Nations Fashion Night. A similar proclamation was made again to celebrate the night this year.

Just before she put her collection on the runway, Delina White expressed her gratitude for the proclamation, which highlights the day as an important economic opportunity for Indigenous people working to establish themselves in the fashion industry.

“I am really honored that they recognized me as a businessperson. That part goes unseen,” said White. “I am usually recognized as being an artist and a jingle dress dancer, which I am very, very extremely proud of, but I am also proud of the work I do in bringing in awareness and support and opportunities to our Native creatives, and that’s what tonight does.”