Quannah ChasingHorse – long known for her activism, and more recently known as one of the world’s most famous supermodels – delivered the keynote address at this year’s Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) Annual Convention and Full Board of Directors Meeting.
Quannah is a Han Gwich’in and Sicangu/Oglala Lakota land protector, climate justice activist, and fashion model from Eagle Village, Alaska and the tribes of South Dakota. At Convention, she represented herself equally as a relatable young woman from a small village, and a truth bearer with a deeply impactful message. While introducing Quannah, Chief/Chairman Brian Ridley joked about growing up in Eagle with her mother, Jody Potts-Joseph, and refers to Quannah by her childhood nickname, “Q.”
In her speech, Quannah juxtaposes feelings of loneliness in an industry where the pressure to assimilate is constant with testimony to her refusal to work with designers who call for erasure of her authentic Indigenous representation. “When you work with me,” she says, “you work with all of me.”
She followed by calling for Indigenous people to occupy spaces with pride, even in the presence of fear. “We are our ancestors’ wildest dream,” she said in her address, “Don’t be afraid to occupy the spaces. This is our land.”
The way that Quannah has moved between the worlds of Indigenous power and modern fashion, utilizing her platform to spread messages of Indigenous sovereignty, land stewardship, and climate justice has in itself contributed to the movements in which she participates. But she takes it further, urging her people to carry traditions unapologetically into the future. “I have traveled all over the world, and met Indigenous people from so many places,” she recalls, “but the common thread is the same. Our lands, waterways, and lifestyles are under attack, and it’s up to us to protect them.”
Quannah is an activist first and a model second, and she makes it very clear in telling the story of how she became a walker of both the high fashion runways and the rugged Alaskan tundra, and how she now uses her platform to create change. Interwoven with stories of life in Eagle, dog mushing with her family, and returning home for her Aunties’ moose soup, is her message of why It’s important to protect our ways life. “We are fighting just to have clean water, fresh air, and food on the table; we are fighting to live,” she says, “I will always use my platform to bring awareness to the issues my people have been facing for hundreds of years.”
The theme of this year’s Convention was, “The Future is Indigenous,” and Quannah’s message was inspirational and emphasized the need to protect the place we all call home. TCC would like to thank Quannah for embodying and emboldening the message that an Indigenous future is a brighter future for everyone.