October 22, 2008

Nude Navajo model

Someone sent me this link in response to Finding Native Porn: the first known example of a full-blooded Indian nude model:

Taj PassionYe'ee'teeh (Hello). Here is a story about my Life. I was born in the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners area of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. Tuba City was where I popped out of my mom's belly. I am full-blooded Navajo. ... The beautiful areas of the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley were like my backyard. No matter where life takes me, the plateau will always be my home.

After modeling in competitions and submitting my pictures to different agencies, I finally got my big break. I was offered a contract to star in my own website. I saw it as an opportunity to try something exciting and different. ... I was surprised how comfortable I was posing and being relaxed and natural in front of the camera. ... It's fun feeling pretty, beautiful, and sexy.
Comment:  The Indian princess as the white man's exotic object of sexual gratification lives!

Translating this writeup from Taj-speak into English, we get the following: "I was so desperate for success that I sold out everything my culture respects and honors. I changed my name, got a boob job, and agreed to pose nude for money."

The only thing missing from this site is Taj posing in a loincloth and chief's headdress. I wonder why she hasn't implemented this obvious money-making idea. I guess she has principles.

I'd love to hear what the defenders of the Rez Dog calendar, Redskin magazine, and similar projects have to say about this. Just another example of a liberated Native woman celebrating her strength and independence? Another role model for Native girls to admire and emulate? Hm-mm...sure it is.

Then:



Now:

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Love Doll Syndrome

Native women (much like Asian women, as there exists such a close physical resemblance between the two races) have always been highly prized by white males as the ultimate in cute little love dolls, perpetually available for the white man's sexual pleasure.

Even the fabled General George Armstrong Custer had a Native love doll during his initial foray period into the Great Plains; her name was "Yellow Bird" and she was about 13 years old or so at the time she functioned as Custer's paramour.

In the Great Age of European Exploration and Conquest throughout the world, indigenous women were quite often taken as "companions" by the leadership of a multitude of expeditions into the Great Unknown. In both North and South America, young females (most of them in their teens and even younger) were simply given away as gifts, peace tokens or traded for so much as a handful of colorful beads or just outright abducted). But, it was not only military officers who indulged their cravings for "undercooked red meat" in the Americas as an unknown number of mountain men, fur trappers, cowboys and general ruffians also came by their "squaws" just as easily (witness the movies, "Jeremiah Johnson" with Robert Redford, "The Mountain Men" with Charlton Heston and "Chato's Land" with Charles Bronson that strongly glorify these putrid cultural transactions).

I came across this information about Custer's penchant for "stockade bait" several years ago when I collected some oral histories of the Northern Plains Indians that were related to me by some of the last of the full-bloods of various tribes in that region. And I trust the stories of my elders much more so than any "research' or casual anecdotes dispensed by any white historians or anthropologists. So, the great general was also a pedophile, among other things.

--------------------

"Booty-licious!"

The young Navajo lady featured will probably go the route of the vast majority of her non-Native sisters who start their "careers" by posing for nude pics. First, there will be a few good years in the porn industry where she will undoubtedly be exposed to a series of greed-driven managers, drug and alcohol-fueled "industry" parties where she will most likely become addicted to an assortment of substances, a multitude of unsafe sexual encounters in the course of filming (to include HIV, a widespread occupational hazard in the porn world) and by the time she's 30, she'll be so used up that Superfly could not even pimp her out. Ah, but she did make a few white boys happy during her brief run. Or she could end up the way the only Native woman I've ever met who was "in a few films" did - found dead in a big city alleyway with her breasts sliced off.

dmarks said...

"Asian" is not a race. The people of India are not very much racially like those of China. Nor are those of Israel much like those of Thailand. Nor are those of Turkey much like those of Korea.

"In the Great Age of European Exploration and Conquest throughout the world, indigenous women were quite often taken as "companions" by the leadership of a multitude of expeditions into the Great Unknown...."

This kind of thing is well documented all the way to and including Columbus.

"...So, the great general was also a pedophile, among other things."

As was Columbus.

Anonymous said...

Re: "Asian women" - Please allow me to clarify - Asian in the U.S. demographic sense - or, more specifically, per the classification of Asian women as they appear on today's porn sites -and as traditional objects of desire in the American popular imagination.

Respectfully, (& w/a hat tip)

MM (Lakota Nation)

Rob said...

"Asian" is the term commonly used to classify the people formerly known as "Oriental." In this context it refers to the race, not the entire continent.

Thanks for the info, Melvin. In addition to Malibu Barbie and Caribou Barbie, we now have a Navajo Barbie.

Anonymous said...

When are people just people? When can a native american artist just be an artist? Why does she have to indian before she's a person? She doesn't play to the standard fantasies, can't she be just another girl who takes off her clothes? Sometimes i think we look to hard on the races. Did you vote for a black president or did you vote for the better president. That's just an example, i don't care who you voted for.

Lasse said...

To anonymous:

The type of carrieer she chosed (if she really choosed it herself and was not coerced into it) are as bad whatever the race of the girl. It will end in the same human tragedy.
It is not so easy as just taking of her clothes.

Anonymous said...

oh, fuck off you pretentious bastard. What gives you the right to look down on her, and what gives some white man the right to stick his nose into native american matters anyhow

Rob said...

If you're referring to me, Anonymous, I don't need anyone's permission to write about Native matters. If I did, Natives would give me their permission, since they overwhelmingly support my work.

If you don't like this blog, feel free to get lost. No one asked you for your opinion of my opinion.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Anonymous (other)..you are pretentious; who the hell are you to judge? You will never really know what it is to be native no matter how much you study or want to live like. Great to have an interest in native culture, but you ar going too far. You need to to try some humility and get the hell off your soapbox.

Rob said...

I couldn't care less if you think I'm "pretentious," Anonymous. Clearly you're changing the subject because you can't address the issues I raised.

I have more than enough education and experience to judge Native issues, friend. And as I said, Natives overwhelmingly support my work.

If you think a lot of Native women approve of posing for pornography, show us the evidence. Prove you know Native attitudes better than I do in this case.

If you can't prove it, spare me your worthless criticism. I'm not at all interested in your holier-than-thou attitude.

Again, if you don't like this blog, feel free to get lost. No one asked you for your opinion of my opinion.

Rob said...

Oh, and FYI, I don't want to live like a Native. Nor have I ever said anything to indicate I do. As any reader of this blog could tell you.

It's obvious you don't care about the plight of exploited women. You're just looking for a reason to attack me--and failing miserably at it. What's next...accusing me of wanting to join a tribe because my grandmother was a Cherokee princess?

How pathetic can you get? Let us know when you have anything to say about Native women in pornography, the subject of this posting. Any other subject is irrelevant.

www.NDNgirls.com said...

You'll see her on www.NDNgirls.com soon

:)

Unknown said...

I saw the NDN Girls.com site. The women are pretty and all but the webmaster's a self-hating racist male chauvinist pig, living a Blaxploitation movie pimp stereotype. I'd feel better if Hef or Dennis Hof of Moonlight Bunny Ranch were running that site. At least they know how to treat ladies! I didn't know Custer was a child molester. I see your point about racist sexual exploitation.

Anonymous said...

"The Indian princess as the white man's exotic object of sexual gratification lives!"

You sound like some redneck who doesn't want a white woman to pose in playboy for fear a black (or indian) man will see her.

-Anonymous 3

Anonymous said...

I am a Navajo (dine) from Northern Arizona I would like to say thanks for sharing the topic of porn and nude modeling.
In my community I am trying to inform young Navajo girls as young at 10yrs old that there is a thing called human trafficking and mean people who will expose you in the wrong way. Giving them options of higher education, after school programs school activities and having them write about a positive role model is what I try to give them.
Trying to inform the community about the cell phone porn women take of themselves in our community has grow widely its become and epidemic and they don’t know what the results and the effects there having on the rest of their community members the elders are ashamed and are talking about these women. Modern society plays a large roll in the newer generation I am only 26yrs old and I write a blog on my yahoo page about my community and surrounding I am only one person this is only one subject I am working on among the thousands more I have written about.
I personally was taught when u are born you are born Dine and your clan is who u are u represent your parents the right side of your body your mothers and the left side your fathers and all the teaching you were raised with you hold in your hand your fingers are your family as well as your toes. How could anyone do such a thing and disgrace there family name and value with no self respect.
And not all Native American tribes receive welfare, food stamp, and general assistant or even child support and not all tribes get paid by the government. The Navajo nation Navajo people work to make a living and fend for themselves I would think coming from a strong society our generation would be so much better but I am wrong.
Family, friends and parents of young children need to talk to their kids about sex and explaining consequences and the effects it could have on their life this day in age there are so many dieses and not enough cure for the effects

Anonymous said...

NDN Girls.com site the racist chauvinistic pig you got that right these. The Navajo girl claiming to be a teen looked perfectly fine but the other girls looked girls looked like they are recovering alcoholics and druggies.
There being exploited badly the black guys sick and twisted this whole thing is vulgar.

Anonymous said...

I know her personally, I dated one of her cousins. The words she proclaims here, are a complete lie! She still lives "that life", she may not be in the public eye any longer but still lives off of what others give her. She is a pathetic person, in general, without bringing the fact she's Navajo. She is a leach! She still "earns" from her looks.

Trino7 said...

I've been with my Navajo wife for 20 years and have lived on the reservation almost half that time and I agree with everything you say about the epidemic on sex there. I've known of women being raped and going unreported and almost accepted because girls aren't taught otherwise. For these reasons I've moved my children from Nehnanezad, Nm. to where I grew up in Weslaco, TX. Keep up with your good works on helping girls understand more about sexual consequences as these things seem to come as taboo to the people to talk about with their children.