HOW QUANNAH CHASINGHORSE IS NOT COMPROMISING HER INDIGENOUS ROOTS AS A FASHION MODEL
By: Hillary LeBlanc
At only 22, Quannah ChasingHorse has made waves in the fashion world. The Indigenous model is not letting the fashion industry blur her morals or values and has been standing firmly in her beliefs.
ChasingHorse is an Indigenous American member of the Oglala Lakota and Hän Gwich'in tribes and was born on the Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona. ChasingHorse has cascading black hair and distinctive geometric chin tattoos – called Yidįįłtoo and sacred to her Alaskan tribal culture – that were hand-poked by her mother, the land activist and dogsled racer Jody Potts-Joseph, in a coming-of-age ritual. While born in Arizona, ChasingHorse moved as a child to Mongolia then returned to Arizona before calling Alaska home. She experienced activism first hand as her mother brought ChasingHorse to rallies to defend the Alaskan ecosystem, protect Indigenous women, and direct more healthcare and education to tribal lands.
Image from Instagram / @quannah.rose
ChasingHorse was scouted by casting director Shay Nielsen for a 2020 Calvin Klein campaign while speaking at an environmental youth protest in Alaska, At only 18 years old, she was no stranger to using her voice to impact the world. Shortly after being discovered she was cast as the face of a new Chanel campaign, had catwalk appearances for designer Prabal Gurung, Gucci and Tommy Hilfiger, and advertising work for Net-a-Porter and Stella McCartney.
Through her runway work, ChasingHorse has developed a special relationship with Gabriela Hearst, the 48-year-old Uruguayan designer and former creative director of Chloé, who employs Indigenous design collectives as part of her production process. With her privilege as a model, ChasingHorse has also been able to choose why she is working with brands that may not typically be aligned with her morals or Indigenous beliefs. The model's Zara advertisements for the chain's Good American collaboration featured recycled and organic cotton. Her work with Victoria's Secret was part of the brand's 2023 fashion campaign, which featured the most ethnically and size-diverse group of models in the company's history. At Ralph Lauren, ChasingHorse and her mother had a meeting with the brand and were a;e tp explain to them why profiting off Indigenous culture without employing Indigenous artists is a problem. Ralph Lauren, as a brand, had apologized twice previously for using . Due to ChasingHorse, Ralph Lauren created a Native American advisory board, and ultimately paired with the Navajo designer Naiomi Glasses in 2023.
ChasingHorse is honoured to represent her people in the best way, increasing representation by being on magazine covers and walking runways. As someone who understands that girls resembling her can feel out of place, she understands how important it is to shift the lens of beauty. As part of this, her ethos as a model is that she will never cut her hair, dye her hair or cover her facial tattoos as they are part of her identity as an Indigenous person. When she started out, she was concerned that these non-negotiables would prevent her from booking jobs, but instead she has found success in establishing boundaries.
For ChasingHorse, educating people on Indigenous fashion is also part of her work. She feels that Indigenous Fashion is often overlooked. The garments, both beautiful and functional, have many purposes for her people. She wants to continue to support, and model, for Native brands that aren’t considered ‘high fashion’ to the industry or agencies because she knows the amount of skill going into these garments. ChasingHorse also always wears Native jewellery and supports native designers, like she has at the MET Gala.
ChasingHorse is currently in Los Angeles working on a script for a feature film. She has acted in the hit TV comedy Reservation Dogs,and produced the 2024 documentary Bad River, which she co-narrated with actor Edward Norton.