Native American civil rights criticize the idea of "American progress" and to express pride and faith in the identities of their own cultures. Charles Eastman, a Mdewakanton and Wahpeton Sioux and physician, published books and articles in English for American people to show that it is not savage that Native people celebrate what Mourning Dove called the "ancient way". In 1902, Gertrude Bonnin told the "Atlantic Monthly" that the traditions of her tribe, the Yankton Dakota Sioux, were not only equal to European Americans, but that their values were superior. In 1903, Charles Eastman, a Santee Dakotan and Native representative, was requested by Theodore
Native American fashion disclose their affiliated tribe. The law aimed to curtail the misappropriation of Native American designs by non-Natives wishing to capitalize on the indigenous market. For indigenous Americans, their symbols, such as the headdress have ceremonial and sacred properties. Inappropriate use of such objects, like the 2014 "Next Top Model" use of the headdress for non-Native models and its use in Dallas by Chanel for their "Métiers d'Art" show, were all too frequent occurrences. Though the law made it illegal to sell items by those not affiliated as a tribe member, little could be done when designs, symbols, or names were