Jessica Metcalfe

Metcalfe grew up in Dunseith, North Dakota.[1] Growing up, Metcalfe avoided wearing clothing that would identify her as indigenous due to racial tensions at the time.[1]

She received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and a PhD from the University of Arizona in American Indian studies.[2]

She was a managing editor and a writer for the International Journal of Indigenous Literature, Arts, and Humanities blog Red Ink Magazine. She was a professor at Turtle Mountain Community College and the Arizona State University where she taught Native American studies, studio art, art history, literature, and anthropology.[3]

Metcalfe has spoken as a guest speaker about her journey in the fashion industry and Native American issues at Ohio State University, Brown University and the University of North Dakota.[4] She has also presented at numerous national conferences, including the Entrepreneurship and Indigenous Art Conference, the Smithsonian and Museum of Contemporary Native Arts,[4] and co-curated exhibitions. Her current work focuses on Native American art, clothing, and design from the past to modern times, with an emphasis on contemporary artists. Metcalfe says she is passionate about feminism and feels she has to uphold the power of the long line of strong and independent women that came before her.[5]

In 2013, Metcalfe organized the Native American Fashion Show for the Idyllwild Arts Foundation Theatre in Idyllwild, California.[6] That same year, she curated an exhibit on Native fashion at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[7]

In 2015, she was an advisor for the Peabody Essex Museum's Native Fashion Now exhibit.[8]

In 2017, she appeared in the September issue of Glamour magazine.[1]

In 2009, Metcalfe created her blog, Beyond Buckskin, to share her research about Native fashion online.[1][2][9]

Following the success of the blog, Metcalfe opened Beyond Buckskin Boutique in 2012,[10] where she showcases the works of native designers in hopes of challenging people's conceptions of native artists.[9][11][12] As of 2017, she had partnered with 40 native artists and designers.[1] In 2016, she brought her online boutique to life with a retail store called Brick and Mortar on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.[1]

Metcalfe has become an advocate for the movement "Buy Native", which promotes cross-cultural collaborations and aims to give people who admire native fashion a place to buy directly from the original native artist.[9][12]

Metcalfe has also commented on cultural appropriation on social media and in her boutique.[2][9][13]

In 2012 Metcalfe moved to Gardena, North Dakota.[1]

• Beyond Buckskin Blog
• Beyond Buckskin Boutique