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- By Kaili Berg
Minnetonka, the Minnesota-based footwear brand long associated with moccasins, is deepening its commitment to reconciliation with Native communities through its latest initiative, the Reclamation Collaborative.
The collaborative brings together a growing group of Native artists to redesign Minnetonka’s appropriated designs, reclaim cultural narratives, and set a new standard for accountability in the fashion industry.
The effort builds on the brand’s public apology in 2021 for decades of profiting from Native culture without credit or collaboration, a practice all too common in fashion.
For decades, Native artists have raised alarm about appropriation in the industry. According to the First Peoples Fund, 92% of Native artists say their designs have been used without permission, while less than 10% of brands that use Native patterns collaborate with Indigenous communities.
“We’re trying to show businesses how you can show up better,” Jori Miller Sherer, Minnetonka’s president, told Native News Online. “This work is not comfortable, and it shouldn’t be. But it’s necessary, and it’s forever.”
The idea for the Reclamation Collaborative emerged from years of conversations between Sherer, Minnetonka CEO David Miller, Head of Marketing staff, and the company’s reconciliation advisor, artist and educator Adrienne Benjamin (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe).
Benjamin, who has worked with the company since 2020, said the collaboration reflects not just a shift in design but a deeper investment in Indigenous voices.
“At first, I was unsure,” Benjamin told Native News Online. “There’s a lot of hurt in our communities because of appropriation. But each time an artist launched a project, it felt stronger, like we were building something meaningful together.”
Each artist in the collaborative contributes their own designs and expertise, but also works collectively to guide Minnetonka’s broader goals.
“We wanted a way to show that this isn’t just one-off products,” Benjamin said. “It’s a group consciously working to make changes.”
That vision extends beyond aesthetics. The company has set a long-term goal of removing or redesigning appropriated styles with authentic Native artistry.
“Reclamation means using what you already have to give back to those who’ve been excluded,” Benjamin said.
Since launching its reconciliation work, Minnetonka has focused on building genuine relationships with artists, starting locally in Minnesota.
Past collaborations have featured Ojibwe and Navajo artists. This fall, a Dakota artist will debut a beadwork design, completing what Benjamin called a “Minnesota vibe” by honoring both Ojibwe and Dakota communities in the state.
“All of them are not just artists, they have full-time jobs working in their communities,” Sherer said.
The name “Reclamation Collaborative” itself came from the artists, highlighting their central role in shaping the initiative.
Minnetonka measures its progress around five pillars including design collaborations, business partnerships with Native-owned companies, brand language and imagery, employee education, and philanthropy.
“If we only did philanthropy, it wouldn’t be enough,” Sherer noted. “But it would also be incomplete without it.”
Both Sherer and Benjamin emphasized that the collaborative is intended as a model for other brands.
“I hope this shows people it has to be more than just a one-off thing,” Benjamin said. “It takes real, deep work, acknowledgement, apology, and change.”
That means moving beyond vague references to “Native-inspired” designs and acknowledging the distinct tribes, artists, and stories involved.
“We’re teaching people it’s not just ‘Native.’ It’s Dakota. It’s Anishinaabe. Those are different, and deserve to be seen as such,” Benjamin said.
Benjamin added that reconciliation is as much personal work as corporate.
“There are still moments when my own traumas come up in this work. Native people have been burned so many times. But Minnetonka continues to show they’re standing in it, doing the work, and not just checking a box,” Benjamin said.
As the Reclamation Collaborative continues to grow, Minnetonka plans additional artist collaborations in 2026 and beyond, and hopes to expand into more product categories when feasible.
“I want other companies, and even governments, to understand that if you want true reconciliation, you have to dig deep. You can’t just write a check and walk away,” Benjamin said.
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