OKLAHOMA CITY – A recent photograph of a member of Oklahoma’s first family has many Natives demanding a real apology.
On March 6, Christina Fallin, the 26-year-old daughter of Gov. Mary Fallin, posted a picture on Instagram and Facebook of herself in a fake headdress during a So6ix magazine photo shoot at Remington Park for Oklahoma City musician Josh Sallee. Sallee has since publicly distanced himself from the photograph.
According to an Associated Press report, Fallin is currently a marketing consultant for and appears in a local magazine that features fashion trends, health tips and beauty advice.
The photograph went viral after it was shared on Twitter by an Oklahoma City-based blog, The Lost Ogle, with the tweet: “I think I found my new avatar. So classy.” The original picture has since been deleted from Christina Fallin’s Instagram account, but has been recycled in memes mocking Fallin, her mother and the state’s relationship with tribes.
In a statement released through her band Friday morning, Fallin apologized and defended her decision to wear the headdress, claiming a “deeper and deeper connection” with Native American culture as she ages, despite initially including the phrase “appropriate culturation.”
“Though it may not have been our own, this aesthetic has affected us emotionally in a very real and very meaningful way,” she wrote. “Please forgive us if we innocently adorn ourselves in your beautiful things. We do so with the deepest respect. We hold a sincere reverence for and genuine spiritual connection to Native American values.”
Like the photo that sparked the controversy, Fallin’s statement has since been taken down from Facebook and Instagram. A spokesman for the band, Steven Battles, did not respond to requests for additional information, including the photographer’s name. Gov. Mary Fallin’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Leaders for several Oklahoma tribes declined to comment on the photograph. However, many Oklahomans, both Native and non-Native, took to Facebook and Twitter to express their disgust with both the photograph and statement, seen by many as a non-apology.
“I don’t see ignorance at all,” said Fairfax, Okla., native and former Miss Indian Oklahoma Jessica Harjo. “If I did, I would see a picture of her wearing this at some party or with a group of friends or in a casual situation. No, I see her deliberately posed like an old chief in a photo from the past, stoic face, the whole bit, which takes my respect level way down. Or at least for the photographer who set it up that way.”
Several Plains tribes now based in Oklahoma still use headdresses in their ceremonies. Historically, they were worn by warriors and chiefs who earned that right through their actions. Women rarely, if ever, wore them.
“Not only tribal headgear, but tribal wear at all is usually very sacred to Native Americans and usually part of ceremonial (events),” Louis Fowler of Oklahoma City, who is Choctaw, told the Associated Press. “The fact that Christina Fallin even titled it ‘appropriate culturation’ means that she kind of knew what she was doing. There’s a big difference between doing it stupidly and doing it knowingly.”
Oklahoma ranks second in the nation in the total number of Native American residents.
On March 6, Christina Fallin, the 26-year-old daughter of Gov. Mary Fallin, posted this picture on Instagram and Facebook of herself in a fake headdress during a So6ix magazine photo shoot at Remington Park for Oklahoma City musician Josh Sallee.
Courtesy Photo