Amy Yeung: Orenda Tribe

Orenda Tribe is my soul journey. I believe that there is power in our choices, and that all of us have the power to make change for good.

After a career of designing fast fashion destined for landfills, I arrived at a place of creating with consciousness. The collection you find here is a manifestation of this drive, my effort to craft clothing with a beautiful, timeless aesthetic that is thoughtful of our footprint in the world. Orenda Tribe is one-of-a-kind design made by hand, from sustainable design processes, restored and repurposed vintage, and upcycling of textiles. Orenda Tribe is also fueled by my desire to honor my indigenous history, to protect our sacred lands, and a hope that we can help others. As the team and I travel the world collecting treasures, I invite you to journey with us and be a part our experiments in fashion made in a more soulful way.

Orenda Tribe is made up of a community of hands working together to craft each unique piece and carry the stories of another time to you. A small team of artists and makers in Southern California and indigenous artists who live on the Navajo reservation, we are lovers of old things, inspired by the energy of vintage textiles. Embedded in the cloth are stories of the lives they’ve lived before they’ve arrived in our hands. We seek to continue this life cycle. With each Orenda Tribe garment we creatively approach the upcycling process to repurpose for the future.

My personal history has shaped my mission to make change for good. I am the daughter of a full-blooded Navajo, and my family comes from the Bisti Wilderness-Chaco Canyon region. I am deeply committed to helping Native American makers and artists find opportunity to create with Orenda Tribe. This year we launched a design incubator on the Navajo Nation reservation to support indigenous artists living there. This has led us to our newest chapter as a brand. I’ll be moving our studio to the Navajo reservation in 2019, working with others to protect this sacred land and help foster a strong creative community.

I am so excited to share our work with you as we discover the road ahead.

Love & Light~

Amy Yeung

Founder of Orenda Tribe & proud member of the Diné Nation