The Problem With Heidi Klum's Native American Photo Shoot

It's the ultimate fashion fail.

Supermodel Heidi Klum is in hot water after posting a Native American-themed photo shoot from her television series "Germany’s Next Topmodel" to her Facebook page. Many say the pictures promote stereotypes and are culturally insensitive.

Klum has remained silent on the topic, but on Thursday, Christoph Korfer, a rep from  ProSieben, the German TV station that airs the show, told Yahoo Shine, “We have nothing but the utmost esteem for the Native American culture and are so sorry if our shoot was offensive to anyone. By no means was our intention to insult Native Americans or in any way demean their heritage. We sincerely apologize."

The shoot, which can still be seen on Klum’s Facebook page, began circulating on Wednesday after media outlets picked it up. It features her models wearing headdresses, face paint, antlers, and feathers, and most of the nearly 600 comments are negative. “This is a joke, right?” wrote one Facebook user. “How disappointing. Native Americans are not a costume!” said another. And: “Next time, do your research before you throw feathers, headdresses, and smoking pipes into the mix of your concepts to depict American Indians.”

Last week writer and activist Ruth Hopkins of Dakota and Lakota Sioux heritage, also penned an open letter to Klum on the blog, Last Real Indians, writing, “As a Native woman, I’m tired of being bombarded with negative, false imagery of who society thinks I am. For once I’d like to enjoy a fashion show, a music video, a football game or a photo spread without being singled out because of my race. It’s not just offensive, it’s discriminatory and just plain rude.”

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She added, “Natives are not costumes one can take on and off. When people dress up in stereotypical ‘Indian’ garb, they’re not only denying the existence of 566 distinct Tribal Nations, they’re mocking an entire group of human beings based solely on their race and heritage.” Shea also said, “I don’t care how cute you look in a headdress. You aren’t Native. You have no right to wear a warbonnet because you have not earned it. You haven’t performed deeds of valor nor fought and given of yourself for a plains Tribal people. Every feather in a headdress signifies a specific act of bravery and self-sacrifice.”

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One big problem with Klum’s shoot is that it lumps many distinct traits of the numerous Native-American tribes into one familiar image filled with headdresses, feathers, war paint, and bare skin. The shoot also objectifies women of the culture, which, as women's website Jezebel points out, “contributes to the hypersexualization of indigenous women — who are 2.5 times as likely to experience sexual assault when compared with other races.”

The incident is the latest example of high-profile people making cultural missteps. In November, "Dancing With the Stars" alum Julianne Hough apologized for dressing as the African American character Crazy Eyes on “Orange Is the New Black” for Halloween. After public outcry, Hough said, "It certainly was never my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anyone in any way. I realize my costume hurt and offended people and I truly apologize." And recently, "America's Got Talent" host Nick Cannon defended himself after the backlash he received for posting a photo and video of himself wearing "whiteface" and a blond wig and speaking in a “skater boy” accent on Instagram. “It’s official! I’m white!” Cannon wrote in the caption. "Some people can't take a joke," he later told Rachael Ray on her talk show. 

Yahoo Shine could not reach Klum for comment, but Hopkins has some advice: "Heidi Klum could not only apologize, but help spread this message throughout the fashion industry: Redface is wrong. Don't do it — and if you have questions by all means talk to Natives," she says. "Include us in dialogue. Taking sacred objects from other cultures (like the war bonnet and pipe from the Lakota) and using them beyond their strict ceremonial purposes is profane and disrespectful to my Native ancestors. Wasn't genocide through disease, starvation, and outright massacre enough? We are still here and we have not relinquished our rights as human beings to control our own identities and destinies."

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