When Sasha Houston Brown walked into an Urban Outfitters store in Minneapolis last weekend, she found the perfect way to mark Columbus Day on Monday -- creating possible legal trouble for the hipster clothing chain in the process.
Appalled by a line of products labeled "Navajo," Brown, a member of the Santee Sioux nation, wrote an open letter to CEO Glen Senk and accused the retailer of making a "mockery" of American Indian culture and identity and asking that the line be pulled from shelves.
"I take personal offense to the blatant racism and perverted cultural appropriation your store features this season as 'fashion,' " she wrote, citing "tacky" products including "Navajo Hipster Panty, Navajo Print Fabric Wrapped Flask, Peace Treaty Feather Necklace and Staring at Stars Skull Native Headdress T-shirt."
The letter was posted Monday on the website Racialicious and has since been picked up by Jezebel, Time magazine, ABC News and other heavily traveled sites, and is sparking online commenting debates wherever it goes.
Ed Looram, director of public relations for Urban Outfitters, told the Star Tribune via e-mail Wednesday afternoon that the company has "no plans to modify or discontinue" any of the Navajo products.
"The Native American-inspired trend and specifically the term 'Navajo' have been cycling through fashion, fine art and design for the last few years," Looram wrote.
Trademark trouble ahead?
But the matter may go far beyond appeasing one consumer. As Brown also noted in her letter, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 prohibits selling products through marketing that falsely suggests they were made by American Indians. Also, the name "Navajo" is trademarked by the tribe.