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Bury My Sneakers at Wounded Knee
Nike on Tuesday unveiled what it said is the first shoe designed specifically for American Indians, an effort aiming at promoting physical fitness in a population with high obesity rates.
The Beaverton-based company says the Air Native N7 is designed with a larger fit for the distinct foot shape of American Indians, and has a culturally specific look. It will be distributed solely to American Indians; tribal wellness programs and tribal schools nationwide will be able to purchase the shoe at wholesale price and then pass it along to individuals, often at no cost.
"Nike is aware of the growing health issues facing Native Americans," said Sam McCracken, manager of Nike's Native American Business program. "We are stepping up our commitment ... to elevate the issue of Native American health and wellness."
Nike said it is the first time it has designed a shoe for a specific race or ethnicity. It said all profits from the sale of the shoe will be reinvested in health programs for tribal lands, where problems with obesity, diabetes and related conditions are near epidemic levels in some tribes.
|9.26.07 @ 7:55AM|#
I wonder if they're going to come out with Jacob Ellsbury & Joba Chamberlain models.
|9.26.07 @ 8:07AM|#
|9.26.07 @ 8:08AM|#
and has a culturally specific look.
I didn't know that old men's walking shoes were Native specific.
Well, at least they didn't try to make them look like
moccasins.
The Artist Formerly Known as T|9.26.07 @ 8:13AM|#
"profits from the sale of the shoe will be reinvested in health
programs for tribal lands, where problems with obesity, diabetes
and related conditions are near epidemic levels in some
tribes."
Don't fret, Hillary Care 2.0 will take care of this. After
succesful completion of Hillary's
"re-education" camps, and yearly physicals required for employment,
people will be saying diabetes who?
Chucklehead|9.26.07 @ 8:14AM|#
I'd be more impressed if Nike opened a factory near some reservations to employ the NA.
Asharak|9.26.07 @ 8:20AM|#
I'd be more impressed if Nike opened a factory near some
reservations to employ the NA.
Yeah, that's what I thought, too.
Things like that shoe get me thinking about "The Old Mand and Lisa"
Simpsons episode. You know, the one with L'il Lisa
Slurry.
|9.26.07 @ 8:22AM|#
Any chance they can come out with a culturally-specific shoe for Irish-Italians? Because, apparently, we are a narrow-footed folk.
|9.26.07 @ 8:38AM|#
"Any chance they can come out with a culturally-specific shoe
for Irish-Italians? Because, apparently, we are a narrow-footed
folk."
They would look like cute little leprechaun boots, but with
dangerous looking stilleto heels. You would be adorable in them,
Joe.
|9.26.07 @ 8:45AM|#
Ho Hum. Okay, I'll bite - what's different or culturally-specific about the shape of an Amerind's feet? And are they the only ethnic group or race that has something special about their feet?
|9.26.07 @ 8:46AM|#
To E-bay! I will soon have my very own pair.
Also, tangentially related, the episode of Strangers With Candy
where Jerri finds out she's an Indian is the funniest thing I've
ever seen.
|9.26.07 @ 8:48AM|#
Hmm, perhaps Nike could shape its shoes like the human twat - I've read that one size fits all. ;-)
|9.26.07 @ 8:50AM|#
"...& Joba Chamberlain models."
Nike's new Air Jobas will be as close as Nike gets to offering an
American a job.
|9.26.07 @ 8:52AM|#
"Hmm, perhaps Nike could shape its shoes like the human twat -
I've read that one size fits all. ;-)
"
Good one!
|9.26.07 @ 8:54AM|#
True. They could even stick with the AmerInd them because it would look a lot like a canoe, with a little bald guy riding lookout.
ed|9.26.07 @ 8:55AM|#
Nike said it is the first time it has designed a shoe for a
specific race or ethnicity.
I could have sworn they make basketball shoes.
|9.26.07 @ 8:57AM|#
joe,
Have you ever looked into New Balance running shoes? The make some
shoes down to a AA last. The stores rarely stock them but are often
readily available online. (And for the wide-footed, they also make
up to a 4E.)
(As for the rest of you... Yes, I used to sell shoes. And yes, your
Al Bundy jokes are much funnier than the 8 trillion I've heard
before. I'll preemptively laugh for you: Ha. Ha.)
Episiarch|9.26.07 @ 9:01AM|#
"I'm not adopted and I'm not an Indian. It's just a coincidence that I have a love of gambling and booze and a knack for catching syphilis."
Hamilton Bridges|9.26.07 @ 9:03AM|#
I'd be more impressed if Nike opened a factory near some
reservations to employ the NA.
Your forgetting that they are an ethnic minority who was victimized
over 100 years ago. They shouldn't have to work. We guilty white
land-rapers should support them.
Episiarch|9.26.07 @ 9:03AM|#
Any chance they can come out with a culturally-specific shoe
for Irish-Italians?
Kent Brockman:
"Welcome to the St. Patrick's day, where everyone is a little bit
Irish...except the gays, and the Italians."
Your family get along OK?
square foot|9.26.07 @ 9:04AM|#
I wear new balance almost exclusively.
Hard to find 7-4E any where else ;-)
Episiarch|9.26.07 @ 9:05AM|#
"Orlando, you can't be a pilgrim. The pilgrims had snowy white skin to match their pure Christian souls. They didn't sacrifice coconuts to their monkey gods."
|9.26.07 @ 9:10AM|#
square foot,
My sister-in-law's boyfriend has the opposite problem: 16 AAA. He
basically walks around on roller blades. Of course, it could be
worse, my sister-in-law walks with a limp.
|9.26.07 @ 9:13AM|#
Dammit, wayne, I'll kick your ass!
And then give you a nice meal. You should eat! You're so thin.
VM|9.26.07 @ 9:25AM|#
Maybe Anheuser Busch could come out with a line of discount
alcohol, too?
(ooh. did not just go there. did too! zoom zoom zoom)
Tym|9.26.07 @ 9:29AM|#
Maybe they can design a sneaker culturally specific for Italian-German-Swedes.
|9.26.07 @ 9:29AM|#
Your forgetting that they are an ethnic minority who was
victimized over 100 years ago. They shouldn't have to work. We
guilty white land-rapers should support them.
We do, they're called "casinos".
I mean, we're not going to just give them money, we demand they
earn it by providing us a button to push and a screen to watch.
Tym|9.26.07 @ 9:30AM|#
Maybe they can design a sneaker culturally specific for Italian-German-Swedes. -> dangerous looking stilleto heels combat boot clog
|9.26.07 @ 9:31AM|#
Fact: a peaceful, napping General Custer was murdered in his sleep by bloodthirsty Indians while he was on a family camping trip. - Mr. Noblet
Episiarch|9.26.07 @ 9:32AM|#
Well, white Scots-Irish trash have Chuck Taylors, so it's about
time the Indians got something too.
Zing!
Episiarch|9.26.07 @ 9:38AM|#
"Jerri, your brother Derrick told us you're an Indian. Can I take you home tonight and scalp your beaver?"
|9.26.07 @ 9:40AM|#
Hmm, perhaps Nike could shape its shoes like the human twat
- I've read that one size fits all.
Speak for your self...
|9.26.07 @ 9:42AM|#
I'm Irish-Polish, so I suppose my culturally-specific shoe would be Doc Marten's that come in left-foot only, for savings!
Is this really LONEWACKO?|9.26.07 @ 9:46AM|#
Iama PUREamericAN.
with americanShoes. Pure. PURE!!!!!!!
noMoreTakingOurShoesforJobs.
*resumes arguing passionately with the wall if trees do like
tetris*
|9.26.07 @ 9:49AM|#
Wait, hasn't Nike heard that "The concept of race is a social
and cultural construction.... Race simply cannot be tested or
proven scientifically."
http://www.culturediversity.org/what%20is%20race.htm
|9.26.07 @ 9:52AM|#
mitch,
No one is saying that there are no biological groupings that
correlate with race, just that categorizing people by race is not
completely biological.
It's about the boundaries being unreliable, not the center of the
bell curve being flat.
thoreau|9.26.07 @ 9:54AM|#
If I were a native American I'd be wary of white people with textile products. Remember the blankets?
Historical Moose|9.26.07 @ 10:00AM|#
Doktor T:
we have been assured by a slew, hoard, and throng of one-off
Nativist posters who assured us that it's the ENGLISH who should
fear the blankets.
|9.26.07 @ 10:02AM|#
Hmm, perhaps Nike could shape its shoes like the human twat
- I've read that one size fits all.
Speak for your self...
Taktix:
What...the normal-sized twat is too loose for you? I'm sorry - I
didn't know. ;-)
|9.26.07 @ 10:04AM|#
joe,
You might want to check out www.zappos.com.
These guys have a pretty good selection of obscure sizes/shoes. In
other words, if you have an odd foot size/stride, you will need a
shoe in such low demand that stores won't stock it. Because these
guys sell to such a wide area, they actually stock the stuff in
relatively low demand.
They have a pretty sweet return policy too.
Disclaimer: I am not a paid spokesman for these guys, just a
really really satisfied customer, who enjoys having shoes that
fit and don't cause me ankle pain for the first time since
I passed 100 lbs in weight.
Timothy|9.26.07 @ 10:05AM|#
I'd be more concerned about the shitty quality of Nike's shoes than about whether or not they were specifically for my cultural group.
Minion of URKOBOLD|9.26.07 @ 10:11AM|#
HE IS AN UNPAID SPOKESPERSON.
TIMOTHY HAS NO CULTURAL GROUP. HE SOBS INTO HIS PILLOW EVERY NIGHT,
"oh. I wish I were ethnic"
URKOBOLD HAS PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE.
Nigel Watt|9.26.07 @ 10:26AM|#
Maybe they could become the only shoe company to make a shoe in my size (8B). Right now I'm wearing a unisex style from New Balance, but it's technically a women's shoe.
|9.26.07 @ 10:27AM|#
Instead of having these shoes made by political prisoners in
prison labor camps in China, they should be made by people that
split face cards while playing black jack in Indian casinos.
Now THAT'S a crime.
|9.26.07 @ 10:32AM|#
Thanks, everyone, but I'm fine. I can find shoes that fit in regular stores, I'm just a bit outside the mean is all.
|9.26.07 @ 10:41AM|#
Instead of having these shoes made by political prisoners in
prison labor camps in China
Yes, the slave children who prop up captialism will no doubt
appreciate that some of their efforts are going to help the few
surviving members of a group we've already decimated.
Everything really does work out in the end.
|9.26.07 @ 10:46AM|#
Damn, Dan T, you were really doing good for a while.
Perhaps you should consider changing your handle to "Capt. Sweeping
Generalizations"
Rodney Anonymous|9.26.07 @ 10:47AM|#
Does anyone remember (it may be a good thing if you don't) the movie Americathon, where NIKE stood for National Indian Knitting Enterprise?
|9.26.07 @ 10:54AM|#
I wonder what urban folklore has to say with regard to guys with skinny, little feet and one-size-fits all twats?
|9.26.07 @ 11:09AM|#
"Hey, get a gander at them moccasins! What kinda skins is them?
What's that writing mean?
"Nee-kay"? What is that, some kinda Injun talk or something?" quote
from Back to the Future 3.
Looks like the marketing team has been having Movie Mondays.
|9.26.07 @ 11:09AM|#
Instead of having these shoes made by political prisoners in
prison labor camps in China, they should be made by people that
split face cards while playing black jack in Indian
casinos.
Do you really think those folks are smart enough to make
sneakers?
|9.26.07 @ 11:10AM|#
So, will they send Ward Churchill a complementary pair that's 4 sizes too small and 3 sizes too wide as a Cindarellian metaphor?
|9.26.07 @ 11:14AM|#
an effort aiming at promoting physical fitness in a
population with high obesity rates.
So, the next project is a shoe designed specifically for
Houston?
|9.26.07 @ 11:22AM|#
The picture of an indian holding up a swoosh-logo "tennis-shoe"
reminds me of the movie, Americathon.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078766/
|9.26.07 @ 11:39AM|#
Most of the "slave children" I've seen making shoes in China are
a hell of a lot better off than those who are near starving to
death on dirt farms in Sichuan.
Granted, I've never been to a Nike factory. I'd guess they are
nicer than most of the two-bit stitching houses I'm familiar
with.
|9.26.07 @ 12:11PM|#
so, they are offering a specific shoe only to members of a
certain race, and at a discount or free?
hmmm...
cue: affirmative action bake sale...
|9.26.07 @ 12:19PM|#
matth,
You'd have made a fine Roman.
Those barbarians were starving before we took them into our homes
as slaves.
It was a humanitarian project! You'd rather they died of
hunger?
|9.26.07 @ 12:42PM|#
joe, that's reality. I guess they had reality back in the Roman
days as well. I don't think it says anything bad about America in
particular.
If you want to avoid giving a poor Chinese worker a job, buy New
Balance. Several New Balance models, like the 476's I'm wearing
now, are made in the USA. I notice more of the women's models are
not made in the US. That's because women are less patriotic then
men.
|9.26.07 @ 1:35PM|#
Joe,
The jobs in the factories are jobs. No one is rounding these people
up and marching them in chains from their idyllic little existence
in the eden of the Chinese countryside. They are not slaves in any
appropriate sense of the word.
Notice I am specifically not talking about the work camps. That is
a separate problem and not related to low-wage workers.
|9.26.07 @ 1:50PM|#
I wear an 8-1/2 EEE. Guess I can blame this on the American
Indian blood floating around in my veins (mixed in with the
English, German, Italian, and alley cat. Hey, it's all red.)
But yes, I sympathise greatly with other people who have wide feet.
I've lived most of my life in shoes that don't really fit. Mass
market shoemakers rarely get this right. The problem isn't just
that the sizes are wider; the problem is that the geometry, so to
speak, of wide feet is different. They're usually wider across the
toes and ball area, but not at the heel of the foot. Mass producers
usually just take their standard foot template and widen it
incrementally across the board to make the 'wide' sizes. As a
result you end up with heel cups that are way too big-- your feet
flop around inside them, causing blisters and other problems. I'm
wearing some Reeboks right now that are that way, even with heel
pads glued inside.
Yes, I've worn New Balance before. And Red Wings aren't bad (kinda
pricey though). But interesting here that Nike is recognizing that
it's not just a WIDER foot, but a DIFFERENT foot.
|9.26.07 @ 3:15PM|#
I'd be more impressed if Nike opened a factory near some
reservations to employ the NA.
Really Chucklehead? I'm not sure why someone should care about the
race or ethnicity of employees (or customers for that matter)
particularly of a business that isn't his, but assuming Native
American employment is a serious concern of yours I have to wonder,
what have you done to employ Native Americans?
|9.27.07 @ 5:31PM|#
If I were a native American I'd be wary of white people with textile products. Remember the blankets?
I thought that was debunked.
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