Indigenous fashion show at Hardin High aims to instill pride in Native culture

Hardin High sits on the northern edge of the Crow reservation, which takes up the majority of Bighorn County. The school’s student body is 75% Native.

Yolanda GoodVoice one of the four designers brought in for the event drew on emotions to create her pieces. One of her collections the students wore is called “gratitude,” aimed at teaching the students how to give thanks for being Native American and for the life they have.

This collection consisted of everyday wear such as leggings or jackets that incorporate Crow design patterns and rely on primary colors and symbols seen in Crow Culture. The other is called “live” and teaches the students about living in the moment and being present.

When someone looks good, they feel good and that is the goal of using students as models, organizers said.

Crow Language teacher, Mr. Jonathan Stands, said he focused on Crow designers to not only build confidence in his students, but also to introduce them to different areas of Crow culture.

“This idea came from the students in my Crow Language class,” Stands said. “I was shocked at how excited the students were to do this. We want to continue this, it is amazing the joy this has brought.”

At the show students walked on stage in their designer clothes that displayed their culture. But what was more important was each student radiated confidence and pride.

Indigenous fashion has recently been enjoying a well-earned vogue around the world.

Angela Howe-Parrish, who is a descendant of the Crow and Blackfeet tribes and daughter of a home-economics teacher, returned recently from France where she participated in Paris Indigenous Fashion Week. Howe-Parrish created 16 looks for the show in a collection called, “Honoring My Mothers and Grandmothers.”

Howe-Parrish has launched Choke Cherry Creek, a company featuring her contemporary Apsáalooke, or Crow, designs. In April, her designer friend Cora Chandler helped organize the first Big Sky Indigenous Women in Fashion and Art Gala.

In 2016, Bethany Yellowtail, who is Crow and Northern Cheyenne, had one of her gowns worn during the Oscars ceremony. Two years later, Red Berry Woman, a fashion designer in Mandaree on the Fort Berthold Reservation in western North Dakota, became the first contemporary Native American fashion designer to have a gown worn on stage at the Oscars.

“This show shows that native designs and the way we live still exist,” Hardin student and model Andrea Espinoza said. “And we are not going anywhere.”