What is Buy Native?
Buy Native is a database to help you connect to Native businesses and Native-made goods. By connecting Native creators and artists on a single platform, and bringing the spotlight to their businesses and hard work, we hope to encourage and care for their communities and tribes.
Who We Are
We are a community focused on connecting Native artists and artisans to the industries they thrive in to change the narrative of appropriation and invest in Native communities. When you Buy Native you are partnering with us in this vision. You are investing in the land. You are investing in future generations.
For years, corporations and popular culture have developed many “Native inspired” or false “Native-made” products that capitalize on the history and influence of Native cultures. Cultural appropriation continues to take away important resources from Native artisans and Native-owned businesses. Many Native individuals depend on arts and crafts as their primary source of income and Buy Native seeks to elevate their voices.
Many Native-owned businesses are also being run on Native land and on the remaining reservations. By choosing to buy Native you are supporting local Native-owned and operated businesses on Native land. This helps sustain and celebrate the culture and tribes without having to outsource to those with different visions. Our mission is to encourage and support these businesses and, in turn, directly support Native people and communities.
We at Buy Native see a need to support and network with these Native communities. We need a new way to think about Native art and artisans that orients us all towards a sustainable care for people, land, and tribes. Join us in choosing to Buy Native, directly supporting the celebration and care of Native Communities.
At Buy Native We Are Working Toward
- Funneling resources back to our community.
- Investing in sustainable infrastructure on our land and for our community.
- Promoting appropriate and genuine channels to buy Native art and creations.
Native arts and crafts comprise a billion dollar industry with little of that money actually going to Native peoples. With the development of the internet and social media Native artisans and Native businesses now have a means to reclaim our culture and story and heal some of the wrongs of this industry. By buying Native you are directly supporting Native artisans, Native owned and operated businesses, and helping them tell the story of their culture through their work. You will be helping preserve Native culture by providing resources and helping communities to regain what they have lost.
Here are a few resources to learn more about the importance of Buying Native and not appropriating Native culture:
The Team
We are a team of dreamers, creators, and entrepreneurs. We’re passionate about giving back to our Native Community. Find us on social, and we’d love to connect!
