https://www.facebook.com/ntvsclothing/photos/a.248774832000321.1073741828.245852668959204/527999037411231/?type=3
People being what they are, there are many who are more than willing to steal and scam from actual Native artists, and using the good-heartedness of people who want to do something to show their support for Standing Rock. Indigenous artists have a difficult enough time, there are always a host of people trying to rip off what they do, but this is not only out of control, but once again, FB won’t do shit about it. So, it’s up to you. The people doing the scamming are mostly based outside the U.S., and they have enough money to buy sponsored ads on FB, which are resulting in millions upon millions of views, and worse, shares. Most Native artists and small business owners cannot afford the same amount of sponsored ads, their attempts to alert people don’t get very far, and as Aaron Silva noted in comments in the above post, FB was not allowing him to boost it.
We all know how lax FB is about such matters, in spite of what they might say. If you’re someone who wants to support Standing Rock, and thinks doing a donation by way of getting a cool shirt is a good way to do things, then do that, but do everyone a big favor by putting on your thinking cap, and keeping those eyes sharp. Verify, verify, verify, because money you think is going to Standing Rock isn’t, it’s going into the pocket of a thief. Aaron Silva has some helpful tips on what to look for at NTVS Clothing.
BuzzFeed has an extensive article about the problem. If you see a fake site, please, report them. Warn others, all the things you do on FB when you know something is bad. Native artists and all those at Standing Rock thank you for doing whatever you can to combat this ongoing problem.
Edited to add: If you fell for one of these scams, don’t feel bad, but do get mad, and help take them down!
Hey look! We didn’t need to force capitalism on the Vietnamese at gunpoint. We just needed to provide the tools for them to discover the joys of unbridled greed and let them become capitalists on their own.
This kind of scam is on an extra level of despicable.
This reminds me of LOTR.
“The vultures are coming!”
Or something like that.
I’m actually pissed off because photoshopping t-shirts on celebrities is like a false endorsement -- it’s the kind of thing I would love to see more of them promote publicly (and heck, The Rock should totally go and model some of Woodley’s t-shirts, wow) but it’s like putting false words in their mouth if you’re just stealing their celebrity and diverting money that could actually go to Standing Rock just to line your own pockets. It’s lying on so many levels.
And just the heartlessness, I mean Native American artists already have a hard time getting the recognition they deserve, it’s just cruel to profit like this.
To boost the real stuff again: Beyond Buckskin has the most beautiful things. They also occasionally have stuff sold in support of Standing Rock. One day, when my free money and the offer align, I’m going to get me one of these.
Dear fellow white people, you can totally dig native styles without being an asshole.
Oh, Beyond Buckskin has some of the most beautiful stuff. I first read about them starting up at ICTMN. They have a beaded Thunderbird necklace I am absolutely crazy about, and a couple of blogging checks will see that mine! It’s also from an artist who is Turtle Mountain Chippewa, which is not far from where I live, and I’ve been out to the rez once. They have a couple of artists also from there who do the most beautiful turtle necklaces, birch bark and beaded, and I am dying to get my hands on those, but they are all sold out. Want this ring, too.
I was planning on doing Xmas shopping there for Rick, so if you see this Rick, stay away! ♥