I was legitimately thrilled with the overall reception of my costume. I never could’ve imagined that it would make so many people so happy! But I exchanged so many hugs and daps and high fives, it was unreal. I had a lot of really great conversations with people that were just super excited to see some Native representation at the convention. So that part was really special for me, because that was a big part of my own personal inspiration to begin with.
I originally brainstormed this costume in late 2015, but I really started rolling on production this last year, once I committed to this years SDCC… My main goal was to make a Native American variant of a fan-favorite character. I was immediately drawn to Captain America because of everything he symbolizes as basically the poster boy of a nation. To me it was the perfect parallel. And once I visualized the red and white bone breastplate on my abdomen, I knew this was something I had to see through.
A lot of old school leather work with the awl! The majority of the armor was made from a base of 6mm EVA foam with 3 oz deer hide glued over it. The pieces were then stitched together with sinew or leather lace. Using this technique allowed me to form curves and build the necessary bulk of the armor pieces while also getting the suede textures I was looking for. And a whole lot of beading!
