By Ave Doster '22
Charlene Holy Bear is a Native American Artist who suddenly began receiving nation-wide attention for her unique and creative designs that combined modern streetwear with traditional Native American beadwork. The idea started when Holy Bear beaded a pair of commonly worn checkered slip-on vans for her 9 year old son. Her son’s unique shoes sparked lots of interest and Charlene Holy Bear started receiving lots of unexpected attention.
Soon enough, Holy Bear gained a large amount of recognition in the fashion world. She was featured in a Vogue article and she was included in The Today Show’s Style Heros list of 2018, along with other inspirational artists and activists! Holy Bear uses hand-beading methods that she learned from a very young age to create designs that are similar to those of traditional moccasins. I find Charlene Holy Bear to be an incredibly compelling artist because of her unique choice to embrace and integrate current trends with her Native culture and art that she has been taught from generations of tradition.
I, and surely many others, find the wide range of Indigenous art and artists to be incredibly beautiful and captivating. But it is hard to be sure if the art or products that we’re seeing in stores or online are not appropriating Native American culture. It is unfortunately very common to see appropriated Indigenous-inspired art being sold by companies that do not honor the traditions or artists that deserve credit. This is why uplifting and appreciating Native American artists like Charlene Holy Bear is incredibly important!
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Editor: Cecilia Fiorindo
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