Taking Back Indigenous Design, One Outfit at a Time

For 19-year-old Quentin Anderson, growing up in the small tribal community of Isleta Pueblo, N.M., the cool clothes he saw on social media were financially out of reach. So he created his own, screen-printing designs onto T-shirts and upcycling fabric.

But he never imagined he’d see his designs on the red carpet, much less on a fellow Native person. This summer, he got that chance: Meegwun Fairbrother, an Ojibwe actor, wore an outfit by Anderson as he promoted his role on the new “Little House on the Prairie” Netflix series.

“It’s one of the best feelings ever,” said Anderson. “Something I made is actually getting seen by who knows how many people. It’s being worn and used — it’s not just an item without a soul.” 

Helping to guide Anderson to that success in his budding career was a University of Maryland faculty member who’s mentored dozens of Indigenous youth as a board member for the nonprofit Indigenous Futures 4Ever. The organization was founded by Navajo designer Amy Denet Deal in 2024 to empower young Native artists as they pursue careers in fashion. Robert H. Smith School of Business Associate Clinical Professor Justín Reyna, whose family is from New Mexico, started working with her over a year ago, lending his expertise in entrepreneurship and law.

“If you’re in the Indigenous world and doing creative arts, like ceramics and jewelry and rugs, there’s an old, established way of going through traders, but there’s always a middle person taking an exorbitant cut,” said Reyna. “These youth are trying to do start their own thing. They’re carrying forward a lot of their traditions into this new world.” 

In August, for example, the nonprofit invited Indigenous youth from across the country to network with people from brands like Ralph Lauren and schools such as the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Reyna presented on intellectual property and held hours of “Legal Uncle” sessions — “uncle” or “auntie” being terms of endearment for elders in Indigenous communities — to give guidance to the aspiring entrepreneurs. Topics included the basics of forming a corporation, pricing and sales, and understanding copyright.  

“Some of them have very specific IP issues,” he said. “If they license an image or family pattern and a company buys it, they can’t use it anymore. And of course, they are always facing others copying their design and work, robbing them of the value of their creativity and innovation."  

Then in October, he returned to the Southwest to help distribute 500 donated sewing machines (as well as skateboards, another of the organization’s initiatives), crisscrossing Navajo Nation, from New Mexico to Arizona to Utah, to reach young creatives in remote areas. 

Putting the right tools in the hands of the youth is one way to “end the cultural appropriation of Native culture,” said Denet Deal, who has more than 40 years of experience in the fashion industry. “That’s powerful when we do this ourselves, instead of Pendleton or these big companies.  … These kids, they all have the creativity to take it to the top.”