Quannah ChasingHorse: The Indigenous American supermodel on bringing change

"People are surprised at what I've said yes to": The model, activist and emerging actor talks about her childhood, her culture – and making a difference.

On a gusty night in September, model Quannah ChasingHorse ed the legendary designer Ralph Lauren on his New York Fashion Week catwalk. Earlier that year, she wasn't even sure she could look him in the eye.

Twenty-two-year-old ChasingHorse is an Indigenous American who is a member of the Oglala Lakota and Hän Gwich'in tribes, and was born on the Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona. She had seen some of Ralph Lauren's past ments, and also designs which she believed were unmistakable copies of Indigenous motifs, and was troubled by what she saw. Back in 2014 Ralph Lauren had apologised for their Native American-themed ments, and then in 2022 apologised again for the designs that echoed Native Mexican motifs. The brand promised greater "credit and collaboration" for new garments with Indigenous motifs, and added that the company was deepening its "cultural awareness training", and broadening its work with Indigenous communities.

ChasingHorse its she had to "really wrestle" with whether to work with the fashion mega-brand, or tell them to buzz off. In fact, the Alaska native used a harsher word than "buzz" that cannot be printed here. Still, she ultimately took the job.

"I guess I could have slammed the door on them instead of asking to have a real conversation with them," she tells the BBC. "But then, you know, nothing changes. And that's the opposite of how I want to live."

ChasingHorse has cascading black hair and distinctive geometric chin tattoos – called Yidįįłtoo and sacred to her Alaskan tribal culture – that were hand-poked by her mother, the land activist and dogsled racer Jody Potts-Joseph, in a coming-of-age ritual.

Born on Indigenous land in Arizona, ChasingHorse moved with her mother and brothers to Mongolia as a toddler, where they ed their maternal grandparents, who were Christian missionaries. "I don't agree with that kind of work," she says. "But I love them very much. They were also helping smaller communities and nomadic tribes." On overnight trips to Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, ChasingHorse would watch the fashion shows that aired on public television. "After that, I would pose in family photos as if I was a supermodel," she says. "I was obsessed."

When ChasingHorse turned six, the family took the Trans-Siberian railroad through Europe, camping on Italian beaches before flying home to Arizona, then moving to Alaska. "We set up camp by a river and lived off the land. It was the most magical thing. But now that I'm an adult, I realise we were homeless, and my mom was working so hard to make sure we didn't know that."

Potts-Joseph became a public safety officer in their tribal community; they moved into a rustic log cabin with no electricity, and rebuilt it from the ground up. When their small family car couldn't drive in a blizzard, Potts-Joseph took Quannah and her brothers to school via dogsled. The family attended rallies to defend the Alaskan ecosystem, protect Indigenous women, and direct more healthcare and education to tribal lands. "I had a really rich childhood," she says. "But being rich had nothing to do with money. It had everything to do with culture, traditions and community. That's how we survived."

While speaking at an environmental youth protest in Alaska, ChasingHorse was scouted by casting director Shay Nielsen for a 2020 Calvin Klein campaign. "Her energy and confidence really set her apart," Nielsen tells the BBC. "At just 18 years old, she was already a powerful leader advocating for her Indigenous community." 

After her Calvin Klein breakthrough, ChasingHorse was invited to meet with modelling agencies in New York. The problem? She couldn't afford a plane ticket – until her Indigenous community pooled funds to send the then-teenager to Manhattan. En route, she studied her craft via YouTube videos. "I watched a ton of Vogue models, trying to learn how they walk, how they do their makeup. It was like watching that Mongolian fashion TV all over again."

Eventually, ChasingHorse signed with IMG Models – the agency that discovered supermodels like Gigi Hadid and Lily Cole – and was sent to meet with Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, the photography duo known for cutting-edge images of Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. "I walked into the casting room, and everyone just kind of stared. I thought, 'Oh my gosh, am I wrong? Do I not look the way you want me to look">window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a', container: 'taboola-below-article', placement: 'Below Article', target_type: 'mix' });