sheep and red rocks reign supreme.

Navajos wage a constant cultural battle to defend their traditional beliefs and Native language against the influx of 2011, which wants the kids to believe in Beyonc�, and sing along to "Run the World."

They're used to selling their kids on their culture, not being the stars of the mall.

So Roessel has questions of her own. For example: Do those fashion folks in New York think that all her people are dead?

"I wonder whether they understand that Navajo is even . . . a living culture," Roessel says, "and that there are women today who wear outfits with these designs on them because they mean something."

In their lust to sell "Navajo" as the perfect blend of bohemian-exotic cool, the fashion elite may not havesays. "Maybe a belt or a piece of jewelry. And I am really loving the fringed suede booties.

"This is not meant to be a costume."

To wit: A few weeks ago, Roessel was in Phoenix, walking to dinner with a friend, and spotted a girl gone wild: "She had feather earrings, and a headband, and sandals with fringe, and it was quite over-the-top, like Native American Fashion Night," Roessel says.

"Now, I love fashion and I love to dress up, but if she was in Glamour, you'd have had the black bar over her (eyes)."

The Navajo now

And in the spirit of promoting understanding of the actual Navajo culture, we introduce you to Melissa Cody, an actual neo-Navajo, if there were such a thing. She is 28, originally from Leupp, on