The Indigenous Fashion Designer Using Face Masks To Fight Injustice
Korina Emmerich has been making face masks that have respected the Indigenous heritage for years, but now CDC has urged the general population to cover the public, it is difficult to keep up with demand.
Woman photographing native american tribes
The 34-year-old Project Runway competitor with a sewing machine inside the Brooklyn studio prepares hundreds of masks in traditional patterns and rainbow tones. Their colorful designs are simple and powerful. They represent sacred relationships between humans and animals and shed light on the tribal lands with the threat of major oil. Emmerich sells masks on your website, especially there is a warning that it is not designed to protect against coronavirus because they are not filtered. (The CDC recommends that you wear a multi-layer face coating made of cotton.)
It constantly stocks the materials and draws new designs. Sewing everything on ELLE.com is time consuming, but long hours are a pleasant distraction from the loneliness of the pandemic.
“At a time when we were all out of control, mask making gave me some sort of emotional stability, not just financial,” Emmerich said. Says. “It is a very difficult time to find ways to help in a world where you cannot be physically present at the moment, so I am grateful for something that will wake up and work every day, because fear of being still and useless truth.”
Emmerich descends from a long Beach Saltwater Land fishing line next to his father. Their masks are named for fishing terms such as red, orange, yellow, and green Split Shot design (above), which is a reference to the split shot weight used on a fishing rod just above the hook.
In the coming weeks, nearly 200 people have done so far, with hundreds of more planting plans. He says that they will also be shaped in bright colors, and their aim is to draw attention to a variety of local issues, including anti-pipeline demonstrations in North America.
“[Native] masks can carry heavy ritual responsibilities in healing and recovery,” Emmerich said. “Everything created will be used and masks will help to share traditional teachings in a kind of theatrical style.”
Storytelling has a long tradition in Indigenous cultures as a way of teaching history, says Emmerich and masks, “the center of these teachings is often life-giving stories.” For example, in the Yup´ik tribe of Alaska, waves of driftwood masks are worn to depict the relationships between people, animals and the spirit world. The Pueblo Indians (in northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico) also have ceremonies where masked men play important roles.
“Although the use of masks differs from nation to nation,” says Emmerich, “they have always been part of the literally domestic narrative.”
The materials she uses to make her masks come from Pendleton Mills, Portland, Oregon. Emmerich says it is 80 percent wool and 18 percent cotton, which “reduces environmental and human damage because it is not produced using chemicals and biodegrades after disposal.” “I also think that we were affected by biological warfare in blankets during the little wish epidemic, using the wool blanket material as a protective clothing, and this language is on the cheek to the settlers.”
In addition, Emmerich explains that wool is both easy to clean (recommends sterilizing in boiling water or with dish soap and vinegar) and super comfortable.
Small Houses The New Symbol of Resistance
Masking is a way to gather resources to support indigenous populations at risk. Emmerich also balances site sales with fundraising for the Indigenous Kinship Collective, a Indigenous group that supports tribal communities and the elderly during the coronavirus crisis.
Native American communities were particularly hard hit by the pandemic, the Navajo Nation in the southwestern US suffered worse than all. As of April 18, 173,667 people of the local community had 1,197 cases and 44 deaths. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, if Navajo Nation was a state, it would have fallen to number three for COVID-19 infections per capita behind New York and New Jersey.
“Essential preventive measures (such as stocking in grocery stores) are not a reality for everyone,” says Emmerich. “The Navajo Nation is in a food desert with only 13 markets for 180,000 people. Many people lack essential human resources such as running water.”
The fear of being stagnant and useless is real.
According to Vox, Congress has allocated millions of dollars to the Indian Health Service and tribal organizations, but most tribal clinics have not yet received funding. Emmerich uses his Instagram page to promote a Navajo and Hopi (northeastern Arizona Indigenous community) charity fund through GoFundMe.
“Our communities are disproportionately affected and devastated by this virus,” Emmerich said. “I am grateful to have the opportunity to talk about indigenous communities struggling for sovereignty and rights. There is so much power to find your voice … The bull is not ridiculous, I am not hiding behind anything. Perhaps, except for a face mask.”