Quannah ChasingHorse is a model and Indigenous activist. Since a Calvin Klein campaign in 2020 cemented her status as one of fashion’s fresh faces, ChasingHorse has used her platform to champion Indigenous culture and climate justice. She sports traditional facial tattoos, and uses fashion image-making as a means of storytelling about her ancestry, while spotlighting issues surrounding sustainability as well as land and wildlife preservation.
ChasingHorse traces her roots to the Han Gwich’in people of Alaska and Sicangu Oglala Lakota Tribes from South Dakota. While she always loved fashion, she never saw herself becoming a model: Indigenous people and practices seemed to be unwelcome on runways and in magazine spreads. She made her name as an activist first. As a member of the Alaska Federation of Natives Climate Task Force, she lobbied to preserve Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuge, and convince American financial institutions not to fund oil development in the Arctic. She pushed the Alaska Federation of Natives to declare a state of emergency on climate change and reinstate a task force to put forth policy aimed at fighting the problem in 2019.
Since being signed by IMG in 2020, ChasingHorse has worked with Chanel, Calvin Klein, Patagonia and Savage X Fenty. She’s appeared on the covers of Vogue Mexico, V Magazine, Elle and Porter Magazine. She has used the Met steps as a venue for storytelling about her culture, attending the last two Met Galas, wearing looks that nod to her Indigenous roots and advocacy. Last year, she added hair feathers and jewellery crafted by Indigenous activist Lenise Omeasoo to her ensemble, wearing an upcycled Prabal Gurung gown.
