Indigenous fashion takes the runway with an eye to history — and the future

Comanche chanting kicked off the Southwestern Association for Indian Art's inaugural runway show, as singer Marla Nauni opened with a blessing song for Native people. Peshawn Bread, the designer behind House of Sutai, quickly followed the prayer by sending a model in bell bottoms and roller skates down the runway to set the tone for her colorful disco-influenced collection.  

It was the start of Native Fashion Week in Santa Fe, where dancers draped in reimagined indigenous looks twirled alongside models in nontraditional silks with Native motifs. They showed off creations that juxtaposed modernity and traditional Native ceremony.

Peshawn says she used elements of the 70s to represent a difficult time for indigenous people – when the American Indian Religious Freedom Act passed in 1978. The act protects Native American religious practices and customs, which had been illegal under previous laws.