Latest news with #Diné
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Former NM Democratic Party official wants a Hispanic person to replace her
Julie Rochman. (Courtesy photo) It remained unclear on Friday who will become the treasurer for New Mexico's ruling political party, following the previous treasurer's resignation after just one month on the job. Julie Rochman, of Albuquerque, resigned as treasurer for the Democratic Party of New Mexico on Wednesday, in a resignation letter addressed to all of the party's members, who elected her and the rest of its leadership on April 26. Rochman wrote she is concerned DPNM's officers don't reflect New Mexico's diversity. Including herself, three of the four officers are not originally from New Mexico, two are older white women, one comes from a rural area and none speak Spanish, she wrote. 'Most distressing to me, in our minority-majority Hispanic state, is DPNM's lack of a single Hispanic executive,' Rochman wrote. 'This is a glaring deficit and strategic negligence.' Rochman wrote the party should replace her with 'someone who represents the very people we've overlooked for too long — ideally a Hispanic leader rooted in a rural space.' DPNM spokesperson Daniel Garcia told Source NM on Friday party rules do not determine a timeline for replacing its treasurer, however, 'DPNM wants to move expeditiously in finding a replacement to fulfill the position's work without interruption.' The new treasurer will be selected by the party's officers, Garcia said, including Chair Sara Attleson, Vice Chair Cam Crawford, Secretary Brenda Hoskie and the three congressional district vice chairs. 'Right now there are not specific individuals under consideration, but the process will be conducted in a thorough, transparent process,' Garcia said. Rochman wrote that Attleson and Crawford 'have squashed efforts for all officers to work together as a team' and 'intentionally excluded' her. 'They don't inform or engage with me,' Rochman wrote. 'In short, they've made clear that my expertise and input are unwelcome.' In a statement, Attleson denied Rochman's allegations that she wasn't welcome in the party, and defended its leaders' diversity. 'Contrary to her letter, we welcomed Julie to be a part of the movement we're building,' Attleson said. 'Unfortunately, shortly after the election, she decided this team wasn't an ideal fit for her.' Attleson pointed to the majority of New Mexico's statewide and federal elected leaders being Hispanic, including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, along with several of the congressional district vice chairs. Rochman told Source NM it is great that so many elected officials in New Mexico are Hispanic, 'but it doesn't excuse the fact that the party doesn't look like the state.' Attleson also pointed to Crawford's background as a young Black man, and Hoskie's membership in the Navajo Nation and fluency in Diné. 'New Mexico Democrats proudly draw our strength from our diversity, which is apparent in our leadership,' Attleson said. 'At a time when billionaires are dictating public policy and Donald Trump is eliminating essential services, we have to stay focused on fighting for working class New Mexicans, not turning on each other.' Rochman wrote that she received a nondisclosure agreement in late May after weeks of no communication about ongoing party affairs and strategic planning. Rochman told Source NM in an interview that Sean Ward, the party's executive director, asked her to sign it. A copy of the unsigned NDA shows it would have barred Rochman from saying or doing anything that would damage the reputation of any of the party's officers, staff or volunteers. Rochman wrote in her letter that the NDA is inconsistent with her values and undermines her right to free speech and her obligation to speak truth to power. 'Essentially, it would be a gag order for the rest of my life,' she wrote. Rochman told Source NM that she feels the document's non-disparagement language 'was very targeted' at her because she doesn't get along with Attleson. 'It seemed very Trumpian to me,' Rochman said. 'There had been some other things that were rather Trumpian, and I just didn't want to be associated with an administration that was going to govern that way.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Business of Fashion
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
Indigenous Designers Are Driving Brands to Collaborate, Not Appropriate
When Valentino debuted its pre-fall 2025 collection at the end of last year, the Indigenous community quickly took note. The collection included a black bag featuring beaded flowers and fringe, details commenters soon identified as closely resembling a 19th-century design by Métis beadworkers. The conversation escalated when actress Lily Gladstone called out the brand directly on Instagram, writing that the decision to recreate such a piece without Indigenous input 'baffled' her. 'Métis and Dene beadwork is stunning and deserves to be highlighted in a major way,' she wrote. 'But this isn't how to achieve that. Where other houses have taken meaningful steps forward, this is a major step back.' It wasn't an isolated incident. Just weeks after Gladstone's post, the Indigenous pop-culture news Instagram account spotlighted Fear of God's moccasin line, noting its similarity to contemporary Native styles. The brand's founder Jerry Lorenzo had recently worked with Alaska Native model Quannah Chasinghorse, a move critics described as confusing visibility with consent. (Fear of God declined to comment.) These moments reignited a long-running conversation around fashion's use of Native design language without credit, compensation, or collaboration. For decades, luxury brands have profited from a romanticised, decontextualised vision of Native aesthetics — often flattening centuries of innovation into vague bohemian motifs. Native designers, meanwhile, face a patchwork of protections ill-equipped to safeguard their intellectual and cultural property. 'Current legal protections for tribal designs remain inadequate,' said Susan Scafidi, fashion law professor at Fordham University. 'It's a patchwork of coverage that leaves many Indigenous creators vulnerable to exploitation.' Native design isn't merely visual — it's spatial, relational and symbolic. Diné weavers encode cosmology into pattern; Haudenosaunee beadworkers map lineage and ceremony into form. When these aesthetics are copied without context, they're stripped of meaning and collapsed into a generic, pan-Indian look. What's lost isn't just credit — it's cultural memory. Still, there are signs of positive change happening within the industry: Big-name brands like Ralph Lauren and Arc'tyrex have forged partnerships with Native creators, and Native designers themselves are seeing more attention. To chart a better course in the future, legacy brands should support Indigenous designers and find ways to collaborate with Native artists, and pay as much attention to process as they do the final result. 'The problem with most brand 'frameworks' is they focus on the end product rather than the relationship,' said cultural and ESG Consultant Matthew Yazzie. 'They want to know how to 'use' Native art correctly without doing the actual work of building genuine connections and relationships with Native artists and their communities.' A Demand for Accountability Increasingly, Indigenous designers are asserting their agency — and consumers are responding, drawn to the storytelling inherent to Native aesthetics. From direct-to-consumer models to limited-edition collaborations and intentional product drops, now Indigenous designers are shaping a dynamic fashion landscape — on their own terms. Notably, a flourishing Indigenous streetwear movement, including brands like Urban Native Era, 4Kinship and Here's To You, is capturing international attention, generating not only cultural capital but critical economic opportunities for artists, designers and entrepreneurs. There's also a new class of rising Native-owned fashion brands, including B. YellowTail, Navajo Spirit and Orlando Dugi, which have experienced recent sales spikes; Dugi is turning his focus from custom couture to ready-to-wear to meet demand. This fall, too, marks an upcoming milestone: Indigenous Fashion Week New York will debut in September. Contemporary Native designers are leveraging digital platforms to bypass traditional gatekeepers. Kwakwaka'wakw moccasin designer Jamie Gentry, for instance, uses Instagram to reach a broad customer base through direct-to-consumer sales, circumventing the geographic and institutional barriers that have historically marginalised Native artists. 'It's given artists a wider audience than they could reach from just a brick-and-mortar store in small communities where they don't have that opportunity to share their work broadly,' said Gentry. Plus, some Native designers are subverting traditional dynamics, putting their own spin on mainstream designs. Jamie Okuma (Luiseño and Shoshone-Bannock), known for her intricate beadwork, famously hand-beaded a pair of Christian Louboutin heels — a volte-face from the familiar pattern of luxury brands borrowing from Indigenous cultures without acknowledgment. Celebrity visibility has further bolstered this momentum. 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star Jennifer Tilly, along with actors Wes Studi publicly supported Native-made designs at the 2024 Santa Fe Indian Market — an influential and high-end market among the many vibrant bazaars across Indian Country. Meanwhile, mainstream publications have been taking notice, too: New York magazine's Winter 2024 issue featured Jessica Metcalfe's Beyond Buckskin adornments in a holiday gift guide, while Vogue writer Christian Allaire wrote a piece last month about wearing Indigenous designers on his book tour. Still, significant barriers persist. Native brands remain underrepresented across major retailers, and viral social media moments rarely translate into long-term change. In the absence of sustained, industry-wide commitment to platforming Indigenous creators have expanded awareness of cultural appropriation, but its deeper systemic roots — and the artists from hundreds of tribes affected — remain largely overlooked. From Tokenism to Provenance While the industry still sees instances of appropriation, more legacy brands are taking steps to chart a new course, spotlighting Native designers and educating consumers on ethical collaboration. Amazon's Buy with Prime blog, for instance, has published guides to help shoppers identify authentic Native American fashion, while Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom have begun providing more detailed provenance information for Indigenous designed pieces. Outdoor companies, in particular, have emerged as natural allies. Already positioned at the intersection of humans and the environment, these brands deepen that connection by amplifying Indigenous designers and environmental stewards. Last July, REI piloted a partnership with Urban Native Era, initially placing products — including sweats, T-shirts and hats featuring the message 'You're On Native Land' — in just eight stores. The launch weekend exceeded sales expectations, prompting REI to rapidly expand UNE inventory to all 181 locations nationwide by the following month. 'Wanting something with such a strong statement shows they want to put Indigenous visibility on their shelves,' said UNE founder Joey Montoya. A shirt from Arc'tyrex's Walk Gently collection (Courtesy) That same month, Vancouver-based outdoor brand Arc'teryx, headquartered on Musqueam territory, launched 'Walk Gently', a platform to support Indigenous presence in the outdoor industry. It included a collection of T-shirts and shorts designed in collaboration with Cole Sparrow-Crawford, a Musqueam creative director. 'As a company in Canada, if you want to honour Truth and Reconciliation, represent that,' said Sparrow-Crawford. 'We aren't asking people occupying our territory to leave but to walk gently.' For some brands, the goal is to reconcile a problematic legacy. Ralph Lauren, long criticised for appropriating Native aesthetics, took a new approach in 2022, launching its Artist-in-Residence program. The inaugural designer was Gen-Z Diné weaver and skateboarder Naiomi Glasses, who received both financial and creative freedom to design a collection aligned with traditional Diné wearing practices. The program also featured a Native-led ad campaign. 'Because it was a pilot program, they told me we'd both be learning together,' said Glasses. Her ability to dictate material and design specifications faithful to intergenerational techniques shaped a collection that, in her words, 'looked like a naturally hand-woven piece — not like a design thrown on a sweater." The Artist-in-Residence initiative will continue this year with queer Diné weave Zefren-M, further expanding the program's commitment to community-led storytelling. According to Sasha Kelly, Ralph Lauren's head of design with intent, the brand is learning to work at a different pace. She advocates for a slower process, one outside the traditional fashion calendar, focused on 'learning to unlearn, platforming the creator, manufacturing with the community, and providing a design fee and royalties returned to benefit the community at large.' Such practices not only mitigate the risk of cultural appropriation— they often result in more authentic, resonant and innovative designs.
Business Wire
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Nalgene Water Fund Heads to Appalachia, Donates $50,000 to DigDeep, and Launches Limited Edition Bottle to Promote Lasting Clean Water Access
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In celebration of its five-year commitment to helping address the U.S. water crisis, the Nalgene Water Fund (NWF), established by Nalgene Outdoor, the makers of the iconic wide-mouth reusable bottle, today announced a $50,000 donation to DigDeep's Appalachia Water Project (AWP). The contribution brings Nalgene's mission to a region long sought out by its enthusiasts for its epic outdoor adventures and awe-inspiring landscapes, yet many communities there still lack access to clean, reliable water and basic sanitation. To express appreciation for Appalachia's beauty and engage its fans in supporting the region's pressing water crisis, Nalgene Outdoor is launching a limited-edition bottle inspired by Appalachia's iconic blue ridgelines and rivers. Available May 21 exclusively at each $20 bottle contributes $5 to the Nalgene Water Fund in support of DigDeep's community-led work to deliver long-term water solutions. 'Being chosen as the beneficiary of a Nalgene Water Fund bottle brings critical support and helps us reach new people who care about this crisis,' said Travis Foreman, Director of DigDeep's Appalachia Water Project. 'Creating sustainable water access takes long-term commitment and trusted support, and this collaboration brings both.' 'We designed this bottle to turn our appreciation for Appalachia into action,' said Eric Hansen, Marketing Director at Nalgene Outdoor. 'We hope Nalgene fans will rally behind DigDeep's mission and give back to a region that's given them so many unforgettable adventures.' Five Years of Action: Fueling Clean Water Progress Through Partnership Since 2019, the Nalgene Water Fund has provided more than $800,000 in funding and in-kind support to grassroots partners advancing clean water access across the country. The crisis remains urgent, with over 2.2 million people in the U.S. still living without access to running water or basic plumbing. Nalgene's impact has grown through collaborations like REVERB's RockNRefill program. For the first time, proceeds from bottles donated by Nalgene Outdoor and sold at live music events will go to the Nalgene Water Fund, turning fan purchases into meaningful support for clean water projects nationwide. Communities supported by the fund include: Flint, MI: With Thermo Fisher Scientific, helped launch the Flint Community Water Lab with $650,000 in equipment, funding, and bottles. Benton Harbor, MI: Donated $13,000 and 2,000 bottles to install lead-filtering refill stations in district schools. Navajo Nation: Raised nearly $80,000 with Diné designer Jaden Redhair to support DigDeep's Navajo Water Project and COPE. Western North Carolina: Donated $10,000 and 2,000 bottles to Water Mission following Hurricane Helene. How to Help Refill the Good The exclusive Nalgene Appalachia bottle is available now for $20 at with $5 from each sale supporting the Nalgene Water Fund. Like all Nalgene bottles, it's BPA/BPS-free, dishwasher safe, leakproof, and made from 50% recycled materials (ISCC-certified). Supporters can also contribute by purchasing RockNRefill bottles at REVERB-supported live music events. Every bottle sold helps fund clean water access for underserved U.S. communities. For photos and videos, samples, or more information, contact Marcia Gray at mgray@ Follow @Nalgene on Instagram and Facebook for updates. About NALGENE Outdoor NALGENE ® Outdoor Products is based in Rochester, New York and part of Thermo Fisher Scientific. Founded in 1949 as a manufacturer of the first plastic pipette holder, the company soon expanded its product line to include state-of-the-art polyethylene labware under the NALGENE brand. By the mid-1970s, outdoor enthusiasts had discovered the taste and odor-resistant, leak-proof and rugged properties of NALGENE's large selection of plastic containers. In response to this emerging demand, NALGENE Outdoor Products was formed and today the consumer-oriented business offers its customers a wide choice of safe, environmentally friendly, BPA- and BPS- free products that meet their lifestyle needs. For more information, contact NALGENE Consumer Products or visit About DigDeep DigDeep is a human rights nonprofit working to ensure every person in the United States has access to clean, running water and sanitation at home. DigDeep has served thousands of families across the country through award-winning and community-led field projects: the Navajo Water Project (Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah), the Appalachia Water Project (West Virginia and Kentucky), and the Colonias Water Project (Texas). DigDeep is also a leading force in US water access research, workforce development, and policy advocacy, underscoring their commitment to addressing the sector's lack of comprehensive data. Notable national reports, including 'Closing the Water Access Gap in the United States: A National Action Plan' and 'Draining: The Economic Impact of America's Hidden Water Crisis,' unveiled the harsh reality that over 2 million people in the US live without a toilet or tap at home, which costs the American economy a staggering $8.6 billion annually. For more information, please visit
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In the name of efficiency, Navajo president calls on Trump administration to preserve Bears Ears
The Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs are pictured along Indian Creek in Bears Ears National Monument near Monticello on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) As an anticipated reduction to the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by the Trump administration looms, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren is calling for the monuments to be kept at their current sizes in the name of efficiency. 'In light of the current administration's stated priorities on efficiency and reducing waste, we believe that maintaining the integrity of established monument boundaries supports those goals,' Nygren wrote in a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, according to a post by the Navajo leader on X. 'Changing the boundaries and reopening finalized planning processes would not only risk the loss of valuable progress but may also lead to inefficiencies, duplicative expenditures, and delays in implementing conservation strategies.' The letter asks that no changes to the monuments' sizes be made without a meaningful dialogue with 'all tribal nations with ancestral ties to these lands.' Poll: Utah voters, regardless of political party, support Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante In his confirmation hearing, Burgum hinted at support for reducing the monuments and echoed Utah leaders' criticism of use of the Antiquities Act to put protections on large areas of land. Bears Ears has deep spiritual and cultural importance to a number of Indigenous peoples, including the Diné, or Navajo, Nygren said in his post, noting that like neighboring Grand Staircase it is a 'revered landscape.' The monuments in southeastern Utah have been a political football for multiple presidential administrations, starting with the establishment of Grand Staircase in 1996 by President Bill Clinton who used his power under the Antiquities Act, a law passed in 1906 that gives the president authority to declare national monuments to protect areas of cultural, historical and scientific significance. President Barack Obama then used the Antiquities Act at the end of his term in 2016 to give monument status to Bears Ears, an area tribes had long lobbied to protect. Both monuments were scaled back by President Donald Trump when he took office in 2017, cutting Bears Ears from 1.36 million acres to 1 million acres, and Grand Staircase-Escalante from 1.35 million acres to 229,000 acres. In 2021, President Joe Biden restored the monuments to their original sizes, a decision Utah is challenging in court. Meanwhile, polling indicates that 71% of voters favor maintaining Bears Ears as a national monument, while 74% support keeping Grand Staircase-Escalante as a national monument. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico creates turquoise alert for missing Indigenous Americans
New Mexico became the fourth state in the nation to create an alert system for missing Indigenous Americans after its governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, signed legislation creating a 'turquoise alert' on Monday. The act, which passed both chambers of the state legislature unanimously during the state's recent legislative session, symbolizes the growing attention that a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people – most often women and girls – has received in recent years. 'Communities like mine are all too familiar with the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people. For years now, we have stepped up on our own to help locate our missing brothers and sisters through coordinated local efforts and on social media,' said the state representative Michelle Paulene Abeyta, who is Diné and one of the bill's sponsors. 'Establishing the turquoise alert will allow the state to amplify these community-led efforts to better ensure the protection and safe return of our loved ones.' Related: California university to expand student minds with new psychedelic studies course Indigenous American and Alaska Native communities experience rates of murder, rape and violent crime all above the national average. A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice found that four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, including more than half who have experienced sexual violence. But less than half of violent crimes against women are ever reported to police. In 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing Native American women and girls to the US Department of Justice, but only 116 of those cases were logged in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. According to the New Mexico department of justice, there are approximately 200 missing Indigenous people in the state, on average of more than 1,600 days missing. 'Too many Native American families have faced crisis and the heartbreak of a loved one disappearing without the swift response they deserve,' said Josett D Monette, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Indian affairs department. 'The turquoise alert system is a critical step forward in ensuring that missing Native American people are prioritized in the same way as other emergency alerts. This legislation reflects New Mexico's unwavering commitment to justice and the safety of our Indigenous communities.' The turquoise alert system – named for the sacred stone popular in Diné jewelry – will function much like an 'Amber' or 'silver' alert. Cellphones will receive an alert when law enforcement are notified of the disappearance of a Native American. California, Washington and Colorado have already implemented similar alert systems – and after the brutal death of San Carlos Apache teenager Emily Pike, Arizona lawmakers are considering following suit. Since Washington's alert system went into effect in 2022, the state patrol had issued 114 such alerts and located 101 of the missing individuals. New Mexico is home to 23 federally recognized tribes – giving it one of the largest Indigenous American populations per capita of any state. In 2020, after then president Joe Biden appointed her the first Indigenous cabinet secretary in the United States, former New Mexico congresswoman Deb Haaland created a Missing and Murdered Unit within the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In February, Haaland announced her run to replace Lujan Grisham as New Mexico's governor when the Democrat's term expires in 2026.
