What I Pack on My Back: an Object Biography

It is no surprise that the appropriation of cultures transcends into the textiles that line our bodies. The American lifestyle and clothing brand Cherokee was founded in 1973 during the rise of the American Indian Movement. All while this grassroots movement fought urgent systematic issues, the Cherokee lifestyle brand started to become a staple in the homes of many Americans. The company whose slogan promotes “an American standard,” is an apparel and footwear brand that promotes itself as “vintage Americana.” In contrast to the clothing brand, the Cherokee Nation established their constitution in 1839 and continues to uphold its mission of protecting and preserving the culture. What of these two entities promotes Americanism? Americanism does not hold the same meaning to all who reside within its strict geographical boundaries. Americanism is seen as both complex and fixed. For Memo, an undocumented migrant, the complexity of being in America encountered fixed ideas of who and what he is. Memo’s identity is far more than being a migrant and his status as undocumented. Although Memo’s journey as an undocumented migrant starts with a Cherokee branded backpack, his story redefines the brand's “American standard.” 

The story of the green Cherokee backpack begins in Mexico where Memo’s mother is perfectly packing dried meat. The backpack had seen brighter days, perhaps on the first journey across the U.S.-Mexico border. This would be the third time the green Cherokee backpack would see the border. It held a reputation for being a mighty receptacle. It held a medicinal balm for Memo’s aches and a bandage to wrap his bruises. It also held a blessing from God. Multiple prayer cards and images of saints that he prayed to every night on his journey. In addition, it held his  baptismal certificate that was written proof of his testament to God. This was his only form of identification as he was a minor when he first crossed the border. When Memo and his backpack crossed into the United States, he began an American way of living. In order to survive, he found employment at a restaurant that provided him a small room to live in but was forced to work up to 15 hours a day with little to no time off. He was forced to learn a language that held the same words that discriminated against him. Him and this “American standard” Cherokee branded backpack entered a violent geopolitical space that changed Memo’s view on Americanism. Americanism was not standard like the brand promoted, Americanism was theft. Memo’s language and traditions were being stolen by working long hours, discrimination from law enforcement and racist people, and through the criminalization of his existence as undocumented.