On February 8, the NFL hosted a pop-up retail launch event on traditional O’odham land called Origins: An NFL Collection, at the Showcase Room in Tempe, in partnership with four Arizona-based brands.
Two of those brands are led by Indigenous creatives: Elias Jade Not Afraid (Apsáalooke Nation), who has a beadwork and accessories line, and OXDX, a Diné-founded fashion label operating out of Tempe that specializes in digital art and cut-and-sew apparel.
In its second season, Origins celebrates artists and designers who create Super Bowl merchandise and gives them a platform to share their “origins” through their art.
All four artists were part of an interactive brand installation that showcased the brands and their artistic representation of their lives and cultures.
Jared Yazzie from OXDX said it’s important for any Native voices to be heard in an event as big as the Super Bowl.
“It’s always a reminder that Native people do dope work,” said Yazzie. “We’re out here with our generational knowledge, and we’ve been doing this for millennia. It’s great to see Native arts shine in an event like this.”
The other featured designers were Ashley Macias, who creates murals with surreal imagery reflective of her experiences, and Manor, an independent lifestyle brand and community-centered retail establishment in Phoenix.
