Invincible Not Invisible. Fashion Landscapes of our Native Bodies: Creative Native Graphics
By Gl-o Salcido
“Our people call it Hey-ah-klau, which means Golden Rock or shrine. It is our most precious power place. It is the home of the mountain spirits, the Little People, the Ancient Ones, and the wogey. The wogey are what you younger generation of people might consider outer space beings. From this high and ancient shrine you can look upon all the other mountains in every direction. To the east rises Mount Shasta. To the south are the Trinity Alps of the Hupa and Wintun. To the west you will see the whale-shaped mountain we call Doctor Rock. Over there to the north is called Sawtooth Mountain; Bigfoot lives on that ridge.” Native Healer by Medicine Grizzlybear-Lake.
Weaving between the stands at the 2025 Bay Area American Indians Two-Spirits Powwow, a familiar brand appeared from the bobble headed crowds. Creative Native Graphics and its iconic alien with a headdress on display, presenting a collection of sweaters and hoodies hanging on a clothing rack. Sarah Tang, an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, is a graphic designer, painter, silk screen printer and jewelry maker. I know her more as the CEO, owner and Lead Creative Director for Creative Native Graphics, a Woman Owned Native business, who is behind the cosmic out of this world graphic designs printed onto hoodies and shirts.
Sarah’s style reflects her creative process indefinitely. Her designs appear as glimpses into another world. Revealing cosmic perspectives that seem to be dreamlike and even a memory. “Sometimes they come from “downloads” –and what I mean by that is I’ve been involved with doing CE5 sessions for a while. It’s an interesting way of connecting with the star beings through an intentional meditation at night and outside. A small group of us get together, with open hearts, and create space to make peaceful contact with the star nations, says Sarah. She states she uses meditation and breath work to channel her designs, as well, as a way to forge her visual designs. She says her designs are inspired by creation stories she has learned over the years.
While shooting at the SOMA Skate park in San Francisco, it was clear to me that the all Native team was inspired by Sarah’s designs and felt connected to the Native street style Creative Native Graphics presents. We celebrated wrapping up our shoot at a local venue bar and restaurant called Zeitgeist, where the models and I had an elaborate conversation around Native representation in media, art, and fashion. You could hear the passion whistling through the somewhat crowded back patio of the joint. The presence of the clear understanding of the disposition native peoples have around identity. Fashion has the ability to take up space. It really gets your message and perspective across. Native Fashion carries the stories of the land. The stories of our ancestors. Carrying on the wisdom and lived experience that transcends time and space. Living through the fabric of reality and weaved inter-connectedly through passion and sacredness. “I think Native fashion is important as part of our identities. It sets us apart from other cultures and the legacies are kept alive through wearable art – fashion, says Sarah.”
Sarah travels all over the west coast to attend powwows to vend her work. She is set on creating new designs and polishing her skills in silk screening. She expects to increase through e-commerce and social media to meet her demands and grow her brand. Through her journey of developing her creative process, she recognizes the importance of what she does and how it has opened up intriguing conversations with other creative peoples. She has studied many art mediums and through her self-taught dedication of silk-screening she only expects more creativity to come. “I never really followed mainstream fashion. I walk to the beat of my own drum, or however that saying goes. And it’s been nothing short of an extraordinary journey, with no sign of slowing down.”
