Minnetonka to release second collaboration with Native American artist

This month, the Minnesota-based footwear company Minnetonka will be releasing a second hat collaboration with Native American artist, Adrienne Benjamin. The hand-beaded, limited-edition style made of a wool and polyester blend will come in four colorways that are designed to symbolize the natural beauty of the artist’s Native community and traditions. The debut collection, launched a few months ago in December, sold out in one week according to the brand.

“The launch of Adrienne’s first hat collection was so successful that we couldn’t wait to do it again,” Minnetonka president Jori Miller Sherer shared in a statement. “It’s our honor to help shine a light on Adrienne’s incredible beadwork and continue to celebrate her artistry.”

Benjamin works as a Reconciliation Advisor for the fourth-generation Miller family brand as part of a series of actions they are taking to make amends with Indigenous communities. The Minnetonka brand, named after Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota, is recognized by its Native-inspired slipper shoes known most by their anglicized name, moccasins, which they began selling to roadside gift shops in 1946. In 2020, CEO David Miller issued a statement acknowledging and apologizing for the appropriation of culture as the brand is not run by anyone of Native American descent. It was Poland-born Philip W Miller who sold his corner grocery store in Minneapolis and used the proceeds to become a partner in the Minnetonka brand shortly after its founding. His family has shepherded it to where it is today, selling in more than fifty countries throughout the world.

“When it comes to fashion, buying directly from an Indigenous designer is always best,” Benjamin shared in an article featured on Minnetonka’s e-commerce site. “You will be supporting their artistry, traditional knowledge, and even their community through that purchase.” She absorbed some of that traditional knowledge from community mentors that would offer different artistic opportunities for Native youth, either through school classes or skill camps on the weekends. “Beading is something that you definitely improve at with time,” she said. Benjamin’s tribe is known as the Non-Removable Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe as they resisted forced removal efforts by local and federal authorities and reside on their lands today with US government-recognized sovereignty.

To support Native Americans, Minnetonka has committed to recruit Native candidates, partner with Native-owned businesses, as well as expand the understanding of Native issues for all of their employees by participating in educational sessions with community leaders from organizations like the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center. The brand seeks to work with other Native artists and creators in addition to Benjamin and state they are exploring plans to do so. All profits, less Minnetonka’s costs, from this current collaboration will be going to Benjamin and the company plans to make a separate monetary donation to a non-profit organization selected by the artist, the Mni Sota Fund, that offers financial training, credit improvement services, and access to capital for American Indian entrepreneurs in the Twin Cities.

“Through our continued collaborations, I hope to shed more light on Native craftsmanship and cultural art practice,” Benjamin said, adding that she wishes to “give authentic handmade Indigenous art a wider market and through this, educate more people about Indigenous cultures and histories."

The collection launches April 27 on Minnetonka’s site and each hat style will retail for 275 dollars.