For Shoshoni Hostler, a simple hobby has turned into seeing her handcrafted work graze red carpets and magazine pages. Hostler started with knowledge of Indigenous practices and a few beads. Now she owns her own business, making handcrafted custom jewelry and traditional dress wear. Growing up with her tribal community in Humboldt, her Yurok identity has connected her to a reality and purpose beyond her dreams.
“My work means something bigger than myself,” Hostler said. “It means representation for Indigenous people and showing the variations in our cultures.”
Joley Proudfit is a media consultant and co-owner of The Native Networkers. As Proudfit walked down red carpets for movie and television premieres in Hollywood, she proudly wore Hostler’s designs.
“Shoshoni Hostler is doing something essential in fashion. She’s centering California Indigenous design in spaces that have historically excluded us,” Proudfit said. “I’ve worn her pieces to major premieres and fashion events because her work is deeply rooted in the land and California Indian materials and traditions. She’s not just making beautiful clothing, she’s creating pieces that speak to thousands of years of knowledge and connection to this place.”
Being able to proudly create and be a part of the fashion world is an accomplishment not just for herself, but for those she represents.
“A lot of times in larger society, people think that Native Americans don’t exist, that we’re extinct,” Hostler said. “That we are not participating in cultural dialogues and these other spaces, and we actually are. And so it gives voice to that, that we’re not a dead culture, we’re a living culture. We are creative. We are artists.”
Story and video by Noelle Doblado
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