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y’all are gonna support who you want + buy what you want, but please remove etkie from your #buynative lists. i’ll always support native artists + native-owned businesses + not the white saviors who profit from the idea that Native communities as needing saving. https://twitter.com/Riki_Kiki_Taco/status/1204164354255527936
i’m not gonna get into it too much, but #nativetwitter knows the origins + meaning of #buynative. regardless of the fact that etkie is quick to say they employ native artisans, it’d be completely dishonest to say etkie falls within the confines of this hashtag.
the equivalent of that argument would be me telling y’all that purchasing jewelry from white-owned businesses/pawn shops (who also employ the skills + craftsmanship of native jewelers + silversmiths, just like etkie) falls under #buynative.
#buynative means purchasing directly from native people
#buynative is supporting native businesses
#buynative considers the ethics of production + ethics of consumption
#buynative profits go back to the native communities + families
#buynative is supporting native businesses
#buynative considers the ethics of production + ethics of consumption
#buynative profits go back to the native communities + families
if a business or brand is unclear about any of these areas, that should be an automatic 
. cultural appropriation + the exploitation of our art/cultures/communities is happening more frequently. i’d rather be safe, question everything + anything, than be sorry i didn’t.
. cultural appropriation + the exploitation of our art/cultures/communities is happening more frequently. i’d rather be safe, question everything + anything, than be sorry i didn’t.
i'm still waiting for a response from etkie after i tagged their post + shared my concerns about their brand.
i'd also be interested in hearing from @beyondbuckskin and @Byellowtail since etkie is listed on their buy native lists and is part of the #BYELLOWTAILCOLLECTIVE.
i'd also be interested in hearing from @beyondbuckskin and @Byellowtail since etkie is listed on their buy native lists and is part of the #BYELLOWTAILCOLLECTIVE.
"We have buying power. We have the power, with the money we spend, to see change here in our local economies, and to see change worldwide. It just depends on where we decide to put our money." https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/buy-native-a-campaign-to-buy-native-american-made-gifts-this-holiday-season-8lCgpceN0EK3vY8cKsxP8g/
white women know that tapping into the native art market of the southwest is profitable. they also know they can't reasonably do so without native collaborators + brand ambassadors. so why are we supporting that? why are native people going out of their way to defend that?
this is why etkie's intentions, "good work", and giving back to native communities doesn't matter, and why they deserver all the criticism + backlask they're receiving. the power dynamics within the art market/world lean towards capitalism and it's agents.
if etkie was really about supporting native artists + communities, there wouldn't be a problem. but the fact that all anyone has seen/read is white savior tropes, white feminism being upheld, and native poverty porn being put on full-display - that speaks for itself.
