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.
Bury My Sneakers at Wounded Knee
Comments to "Bury My Sneakers at Wounded Knee":
BakedPenguin | September 26, 2007, 7:55am | #
I wonder if they're going to come out with Jacob Ellsbury & Joba Chamberlain models.David | September 26, 2007, 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 Travis | September 26, 2007, 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 | September 26, 2007, 8:14am | #
I'd be more impressed if Nike opened a factory near some reservations to employ the NA.Asharak | September 26, 2007, 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.
Any chance they can come out with a culturally-specific shoe for Irish-Italians? Because, apparently, we are a narrow-footed folk.
wayne | September 26, 2007, 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.
smartass sob | September 26, 2007, 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?Randolph Carter | September 26, 2007, 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.
smartass sob | September 26, 2007, 8:48am | #
Hmm, perhaps Nike could shape its shoes like the human twat - I've read that one size fits all. ;-)wayne | September 26, 2007, 8:50am | #
"...& Joba Chamberlain models."Nike's new Air Jobas will be as close as Nike gets to offering an American a job.
smartass sob | September 26, 2007, 8:51am | #
They could even call it the Beaverton special.wayne | September 26, 2007, 8:52am | #
"Hmm, perhaps Nike could shape its shoes like the human twat - I've read that one size fits all. ;-)"
Good one!
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 | September 26, 2007, 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.
SugarFree | September 26, 2007, 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.)
"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 | September 26, 2007, 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 | September 26, 2007, 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 | September 26, 2007, 9:04am | #
I wear new balance almost exclusively.Hard to find 7-4E any where else ;-)
"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."
SugarFree | September 26, 2007, 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.
joe | September 26, 2007, 9:13am | #
Dammit, wayne, I'll kick your ass!And then give you a nice meal. You should eat! You're so thin.
VM | September 26, 2007, 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 | September 26, 2007, 9:29am | #
Maybe they can design a sneaker culturally specific for Italian-German-Swedes.Dan T | September 26, 2007, 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 | September 26, 2007, 9:30am | #
Maybe they can design a sneaker culturally specific for Italian-German-Swedes. -> dangerous looking stilleto heels combat boot clogRandolph Carter | September 26, 2007, 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. NobletEpisiarch | September 26, 2007, 9:32am | #
Well, white Scots-Irish trash have Chuck Taylors, so it's about time the Indians got something too.Zing!
"Jerri, your brother Derrick told us you're an Indian. Can I take you home tonight and scalp your beaver?"
Taktix® | September 26, 2007, 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...
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? | September 26, 2007, 9:46am | #
Iama PUREamericAN.with americanShoes. Pure. PURE!!!!!!!
noMoreTakingOurShoesforJobs.
*resumes arguing passionately with the wall if trees do like tetris*
mitch | September 26, 2007, 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
joe | September 26, 2007, 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.
If I were a native American I'd be wary of white people with textile products. Remember the blankets?
Historical Moose | September 26, 2007, 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.
smartass sob | September 26, 2007, 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. ;-)
tarran | September 26, 2007, 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.
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 | September 26, 2007, 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 | September 26, 2007, 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.Uncle Phil | September 26, 2007, 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.
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.
Dan T | September 26, 2007, 10:41am | #
Instead of having these shoes made by political prisoners in prison labor camps in ChinaYes, 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.
Taktix® | September 26, 2007, 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 | September 26, 2007, 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?I wonder what urban folklore has to say with regard to guys with skinny, little feet and one-size-fits all twats?
The United Hebrab Republic | September 26, 2007, 10:54am | #
I'm Chet Roosevelt. And I love you.Patrick | September 26, 2007, 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.
J sub D | September 26, 2007, 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?
So, will they send Ward Churchill a complementary pair that's 4 sizes too small and 3 sizes too wide as a Cindarellian metaphor?
scape | September 26, 2007, 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?
James Anderson Merritt | September 26, 2007, 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/
matth | September 26, 2007, 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.
whit | September 26, 2007, 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...
joe | September 26, 2007, 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?
bigbigslacker | September 26, 2007, 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.
matth | September 26, 2007, 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.
just another lurker | September 26, 2007, 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.
Brian Courts | September 26, 2007, 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?
Eric the .5b | September 27, 2007, 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.