Document Type
Book Chapter
Date of Original Version
2023
Department
Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design
Abstract
Cherokee Alphabet is the best-known textile design of Frankie Welch (1924–2021), although she created other designs based on imagery and symbols from Indigenous American cultures. This study asks whether Cherokee Alphabet is a case of cultural appreciation or cultural appropriation. Welch self-identified as part Cherokee, but researchers have failed to confirm this through genealogical research, and inconsistencies in her business documents archived at the University of Rhode Island further complicate interpretation. The approach was to understand the case from a variety of viewpoints in order to prompt constructive discussion.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Sustainability Challenges in the Fashion Industry
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Opishinski, A. C., L. Welters, S. J. Jerome (2023), “Frankie Welch’s Cherokee Alphabet Design: Cultural Appreciation or Cultural Appropriation?” in M. A. Gardetti and R. P. Larios-Francia (eds.), 67-89, Sustainability Challenges in the Fashion Industry, Springer.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0349-8_5
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