Radical Entrepreneurs: First Nations Designers’ Approaches to Community Economic Development
Abstract Over the past 15 years, contemporary N ative C anadian fashion designers have been gaining increasing visibility and economic viability. Yet, their roles and purposes remain poorly understood. This article identifies a problem with conventional approaches to the question of C ommunity E con...
| Published in: | Anthropology of Work Review |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2014
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/awr.12043 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fawr.12043 https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/awr.12043 |
| Summary: | Abstract Over the past 15 years, contemporary N ative C anadian fashion designers have been gaining increasing visibility and economic viability. Yet, their roles and purposes remain poorly understood. This article identifies a problem with conventional approaches to the question of C ommunity E conomic D evelopment and A boriginal participants in the garment industry in the N ew E conomy. It proposes an alternative model based on the concept of the “radical entrepreneur,” which incorporates ideas surrounding ethnic economies, “social entrepreneurship,” symbolic capital, and “rootedness” in indigenous cultures and societies. Insights drawn from participant observation among, and interviews with, members of a C anada‐wide network of contemporary aboriginal fashion designers demonstrate that these “radical entrepreneurs” work as agents of social change both within their own indigenous communities and among national and international participants in a global fashion geography. |
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