Just a quick, positive post for today. I know many of you have seen all the coverage that Sasha Brown's Open Letter to Urban Outfitters has been getting (making it to ABC news, Jezebel, all over!), and I'm really happy after truly years of writing about this stuff (especially at Urban), the word is finally getting out. I want to give a HUGE thanks to my friend Marjorie and her friend Brian, who's a lawyer at Navajo, and the one who sent me the cease and desist letter back at the end of September. There would definitely be no discussion without them!
So, for today, my friend Scott sent me this video this morning, and I thought it was amazing. The video shows the staff of Winslow Indian Health Care Center, located on the Navajo Nation in Winslow AZ, rocking out to Katy Perry's "Firework." They made the video as part of the "Pink Glove Dance Contest," which is about cancer awareness, and winners will get $10,000 donated to the charity of their choice.
Beyond the adorable-ness and positive message, I think this video makes concrete a lot of things we're glossing over with the Navajo product name issue. The Navajo Nation is a vibrant, real, awesome community doing great things. They're not some abstract, mythical tribe out in the desert, they're a group of Aunties and Uncles dancing to Katy Perry and running a health center that supports both traditional and modern medicine (see if you can spot the sign for "Traditional Medicine Man Services" at the Health Center). I love it. This just totally makes me smile.
Vote for their video here! They're currently in 9th place, let's help them win the money for Cancer Centers of Northern Arizona!
Pink Glove Dance Contest: Winslow Indian Health Care Center
(Thanks Scott!)