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Keith DeHaas - Owner of Rez Dog Clothing Company – American Indian Apparel Winner of 2003 Djusa Indianmuseum of Sweden Award of Excellence
Keith DeHaas (Standing Rock Sioux) owner of Rez Dog Clothing Company based in Norman, Oklahoma flew to Sweden September 15-25 to accept the prestigious Award of Excellence from the Djusa Indianmuseum of Sweden in Dala Husby, Sweden. The curator of the museum, Per Skye, has had a keen interest in Native American life since childhood. When he noted how little the people of Scandinavia knew about real Native American history and culture, he was convinced he needed to do something about it. So in 1992 he established a museum dedicated to the history and life of the Plains Indians. The Djusa Indianmuseum of Sweden (www.djusaindianmuseum.com). His vision is to tell the "real" story, not the "Hollywood" story. He wanted the people of his country to understand that Native Americans are not just savages found here and there in history books and old westerns, but that they are a very real and interesting people with a rich culture and identity. The Board of Directors of the museum wanted to do something in return for one Native American who has done something special and extraordinary in Indian Country. In 2001, Per Skye traveled to the United States. He attended a pow-wow where he came across Keith DeHaas and the Rez Dog Clothing Company booth. He spoke to Keith, and purchased a Rez Dog T-shirt for his wife. After that he started to work on an exhibition about Indians as mascots and then again thought about that T-shirt and began to look at the Rez Dog website www.rezdog.com. There in Sweden and many places all over the world, an Indian T-shirt is one with horses, tipis and a warrior wearing a war bonnet. But he thought about Rez Dog Clothing Company and how they made Indian T-shirts and clothing just for Native Americans with humor in their message. It made sense to him The Djusa Indianmuseum award was intended for someone who showed not only pride in their culture, but who worked hard for his Indian people with a light and humorous touch and who truly had their grip on the pulse of the real American Indian. So the Board of Directors agreed it was perfect to give the Award of Excellence this year to Keith DeHaas for coming up with a clothing line – Rez Dog Clothing Company - that speaks to Indian Country with pride, humor and realism. The Djusa Indianmuseum flew Keith DeHaas to Sweden to speak about Rez Dog Clothing Company – American Indian Apparel and life on the pow-wow highway as an Indian entrepreneur. Keith brought his wife Mary, who is the Vice President of Marketing for Rez Dog Clothing Company, with him and together they spoke to 2 schools and gave a full day’s workshop on the modern American Indian. They also brought with them two champion dancers Nashoba Simmons and Winter Buffalo Girl (Buffy) Simmons to demonstrate different styles of traditional Indian dance and regalia. Producer Jay Rosenstein graciously provided a copy of his award winning documentary "In Whose Honor? American Indian Mascots in Sports" that Rez Dog showed and discussed in a segment of their workshop.
The Dancers Touring Sweden With Rez Dog Clothing Company Nashoba Simmons is an enrolled member of the Choctaw nation of Oklahoma. He attends the Riverside Indian High School in Anadarko, Oklahoma. Nashoba is a 5-year World Champion Southern Straight Dancer and at the tender age of 16, has contested in pow-wows in virtually every state in the United States, Canada, and Germany. Nashoba is a member of the 2001 Grammy nominated Southern Drum "YoungBird" nominated in the Indigenous category. He has also appeared in film and movies, garnering a principal role in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production "The Lost Child." He has also appeared in the film "Battle of Wahita," a Steven Van Zandt music video, and a parenting video produced by Connie Stevens Productions. He recently appeared in a Nissan commercial in Japan. Nashoba also takes part in the "Gifted and Talented Student Program." Winter Buffalo Girl (Buffy) Simmons is an enrolled member of the Choctaw nation of Oklahoma. Buffy is a graduate of Riverside Indian High School in Anadarko, Oklahoma. Since graduation she has attended Rose State College in Oklahoma City and now attends Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. Buffy has been a pow-wow dancer since the age of 4, dancing primarily in Southern Cloth and Southern Buckskin categories. She has also danced Northern Traditional, Jingle and Fancy Shawl on occasion. Buffy has traveled the pow-wow circuit extensively dancing in almost every state in the United States as well as in Canada and Germany. Buffy has served as Head Teen Dancer and Head Lady Dancer at numerous events. She was selected to serve her community and represent as Princess of the Golden Stated Gourd Dance Society. She has also held the title of Los Angeles Inter-Tribal Pow-wow Princess and the Barona Band of Mission Indians Princess. Buffy has appeared on three CD covers and has graced the pages of several publications modeling for Native Threads, Gathering of Nations and Denver March Pow-wow, and most recently in the Native American Times Annual Pow-wow Guide modeling Rez Dog Clothing Company Apparel in the Rez Dog Clothing Company advertisement. The Rez Dog Clothing Company Workshop for the Djusa Indianmuseum of Sweden: September 20, 2003
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