On Friday, Nov. 22, the ASU Library’s Labriola National American Indian Data Center hosted an evening of Indigenous art in the center’s first-ever Indigenous Student Fashion Show at Hayden Library. The student-led show featured an all-Indigenous group of designers and models who crafted various modern, contemporary and traditional pieces.
Organized by ASU students Falcon Reed and Tonana Ben, the fashion show also community designers including Flagstaff-based Native-owned store Hoolʼáágóó and artist Deven Tso.
“The idea of the Indigenous Student Fashion Show started in late October when Falcon and I were working together, at first it was just a thought that had no intention of actually becoming a real event,” said Tonana Ben, a fourth-year ASU student majoring in biomedical sciences. “Then once we started to actually plan the event we reached out to the Labriola Center for support. The overall purpose of the fashion show was to highlight the work of our Indigenous students while also involving students from different tribal communities to participate as models.”
For Ben, it was important to hold a student-run event that served students and the local community to conclude Native American Heritage Month.
“There are not many events here at ASU that are solely student-run and get our Indigenous Sun Devils involved. What surprised me the most about the show was how much of the students wanted to be involved and how much the community supported the show. This is also what I enjoyed the most about the experience, we have students involved from our student performer Loralynn Yazzie who played the cello, our MC, our student designers, and even our models. It really shows the sense of community we have here at ASU within our Indigenous community,” said Ben.
Indigenous fashion has become a pathway to express cultural resilience, where outfits are embedded with cultural values and knowledge. Representing Tribal nations from across the country, with majors ranging from biological sciences to geology and supply chain management, students took traditions and wove them with their own personal styles to close out Native American Heritage Month.
“Indigenous Fashion is both sacred and inspired,” said Falcon Reed, a second-year ASU student majoring in psychology. “We use fashion as a way of expression, and our culture inspires us. ‘Traditional’ is often used to identify cultural clothing, but we are identifying ourselves as cultural with the clothing. I wanted to emphasize how we interact with fashion, so the show ranged from ‘traditional’ to streetwear. It was not about the content for me, but how the designers could represent their cultural roots and interactions with the Western world through fashion in an environment where Labriola caters to Indigenous values and community.”
“We had recruited a large part of the community here to run this show, so seeing the chairs consistently filled with non-familiar faces during the event was amazing. I want this show to represent us in a way that lets the clothing and work of students speak for themselves on the beauty of Indigenous culture,” said Reed.
Helping transform the library into a fashion runway is one of many ways the Labriola Center works to support Indigenous students at ASU.
“The impact we had has been tremendous and awe-inspiring,” said Eric Hardy, program coordinator with the Labriola Center. “I think this speaks volumes about the importance of having Indigenous people taking the lead in creating events that center Indigenous people and culture. More importantly, the impact we had also comes from giving students the opportunity to make their vision into a reality. And I think part of that success was that the students didn’t do this on their own, but were also provided encouragement and guidance by staff throughout the process. When all of this comes together, you find that there’s a community behind this success and that’s what creates that impact. I feel that when there’s a culturally safe space, such as the Labriola, where the Indigenous community can surround and engage with cultural knowledge, such as the designs in the clothing and the clothing itself, there's the potential to create something extraordinary. And that’s what we did in our space, we created something extraordinary and impactful for and with the Indigenous community.”
For the Labriola Center, this event was a highlight in a year of many celebrations, including the grand opening of the new space in April of this year.
“We were thrilled to have over 100+ people join us in our space, many from nearby Tribal communities,” said Alex Soto, assistant librarian and director of the Labriola Center. “Within just a few weeks, our student staff, under Tonana and Falcon’s leadership and Eric Hardy’s support, were able to put this incredible event together. They secured student designers, community designers, and 16 models. Seeing the support from the community shows the importance of having spaces like the Labriola Center at ASU. From research to fashion, an Indigenous-led library can be a source of empowerment for Native students.”
Founded in 1993, the Labriola Center is the only Indigenous-led library center within a doctoral research university in the United States. Created within the ASU Library, the center supports the needs of ASU’s 4,000+ Indigenous students, 70+ Indigenous faculty, and 23 regional Tribal communities with culturally relevant services, resources and events.
See the full gallery of photos at the ASU News Instagram.