The Native American Designers Behind Ginew Are Redefining Americana

The idea of starting a brand crystallized on a camping trip near Marfa, Texas, when Erik began to sketch out concepts for a capsule collection. “I drew these things I couldn’t find or buy anywhere else,” he said.

Haatepah wearing a Ginew Elk Down VestKari Rowe / Courtesy of Ginew

This meant clothes for everyday Indigenous life, not just “special things to only be worn as regalia at a PowWow.” What they ended up with was a series of tough, hard-wearing pieces that look just as at home in the city as they do on the reservation: puffy down vests with Western yokes, thick cotton twill jackets, and heavy, selvedge denim with deer-leather patches. Almost all of the buckskin Ginew sources is personally hunted by Erik and Amanda or their extended network of friends and family. “We know what goes into an animal offering its life for us,” said Erik. “What goes into hunting and skinning and salting and fleshing.”

And while they wanted Ginew to make clothes that reflected ancient traditions, they also wanted to honor more recent ancestors, like Amanda’s grandfather, who worked as a welder for Harley Davidson. In the ‘50s and ‘60s, he commuted to work at the factory in Wisconsin and came home to the Mohican reservation on weekends. To commemorate his legacy, they created “The Rider,” a chopped trucker style in a tawny waxed duck canvas.

“When people saw that jacket, they were like, ‘What’s Native American about this?’” Erik remembered. “Because they were expecting bows, arrows, feathers, whatever. But to us, everything is Native about it. In fact, a lot of the designs and the meaningful symbols, we’ve put those in the clothes.”

You just might not notice those details at first glance. The Rider is lined with a unique Pendelton blanket designed for Ginew by Native American artist Dyani Whitehawk. The pattern—called “We Walk Together”— is inspired by the custom of wrapping newlyweds in a blanket to symbolize their union, and the colors are drawn from the red and yellow sunrise, and the purple of wampum.

Katie Harris wearing a Ginew Thunderbird Bandana and “We Walk Together” BlanketAmanda Leigh Smith / Courtesy of Ginew

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