Sophia Eagle's Blog

'Iron Eyes' Cody  In my opinion, Native American culture is one of the cultures that has been the most casually appropriated through recent history. While   populations plummeted in the past century, the image of the Native     American was an appropriated one by Hollywood. Natives in Cinema have a long and rich history, but in the mid-1900s, County Westerns exploded in popularity. Natives were a part of these movies, and the white executives in charge of writing these movies pushed stereotypical Native caricatures instead of flushed-out characters as parts of these films. This extended to costume, as the 'Indian look' was an important factor in differentiating the white characters from those who were meant to be Native.     'Iron Eyes' Cody (true name Espera Oscar de Corti) was an Italian-American man who became famous in Hollywood for portraying Native Americans in the 1900s. Not only did he act in films, but his roles spread to real ...

  As an indigenous creator of beadwork and other regalia, it is important to me to support my other indigenous brothers and sisters in their own small (and larger!) business ventures. This is why I primarily buy beads online or through family members, and have them shipped to me at a greater cost.  While it may be true that I could purchase much cheaper Czech beads from big box stores like Joann Fabrics or Walmart, I find that the cold business practices do not reflect the kind of values taught to me by my elders. Though it drives up the cost of the regalia I produce, I find that indigenous-oriented and indigenous-owned brands are more helpful and have wider varieties of supplies that I would find useful.  Not only is it easier to buy from wider varieties of products like Czech beads, waxed thread, bone and trade beads, and all other manner of supplies, I feel better about buying sacred materials from homegrown and Native sources. For example, I prefer purchasing leather ...

 Hey guys, welcome to my blog! Be sure to check out my 'projects' page and the 'about me' for some cool stuff! Thanks for stopping by!