"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT" - everyone.
Yes, it is true! For the first time in our 65+ year history, Tumbleweed is moving away from the tipi/lodge logo and into a brave new world. I'm SO excited and also understand that many of you are thinking, "but, why? what's wrong with the logo?". I know that for many, the Tumbleweed logo reminds them of summer memories, childhood play, years of friendships - some folks even have it tattooed! And I also know that it represents a history and a practice of taking indigenous imagery and lingo and using it for our own. No one gave us permission to use this image, or to call our groups by tribal names, or use the term powwow to refer to a morning and afternoon assembly. In fact, the history of how or why Tumbleweed uses the tipi/lodge logo (and all the other indigenous-ish imagery) is much more ignorant and capitalist based than you might know. Just like many things in the 50s, Hollywood had a lot to do with our past branding. Native American imagery as "cowboys and indians" was huge in the 50s. The dreamy pastoral life on the range and wildness of the Wild West was being lived out in the hearts of most westside kids. And so, like many, many other organizations, Tumbleweed thought it a good idea to jump on the bandwagon and use that same imagery.
More than it being an outdated, fad-based logo, the image of the tipi was never ours to use. We had been culturally appropriating the image of the tipi and various other terms (like group names) for decades. This might seem extreme to some folks, but it's true, and the right thing to do is change. we were never given permission to use it and it is not even consistent with the tribes on who's land we sit. So what does this all mean?
It means we get a super cool new logo! And it also means that we are doing a lot of education around why and how we are changing the logo, our group names, and name places at camp. Right now, we have a placeholder logo while we wait for the new one to come.
I am so excited for this new change for Tumbleweed. Make sure to stay in the loop by following us on Instagram at @tumbleweedcamp and by subscribing to this blogblog :)
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