TULSA – On July 12, FC Tulsa, the city’s professional soccer team, hosted Indigenous Peoples’ Night. 

For the occasion, the team wore kits or jerseys designed by Dr. Jessica Moore Harjo, designer and owner of Weomepe Designs. The kit is meant to represent Indigenous art, sport and community.

“They approached me a couple of months ago to design the – I’ve been calling them jerseys – but they’re ‘kits’,” Harjo said. 

Harjo is Otoe-Missouria/Osage/Pawnee/Sac & Fox, but she said she wanted the kits to represent all Indigenous people and art.

“It was a real honor for me to have the opportunity to not only represent Indigenous people but Indigenous art and design and kind of put an identity to who we are, even if it’s through sport,” Harjo said. “It’s really special to be here tonight.”

She added one of her signature designs is a scissortail bird, which is included in the FC Tulsa kits. 

“I’ve used it in the past in different situations. I think that is how they (FC Tulsa) connected with me. They saw that design and they wanted it,” Harjo said.

FC Tulsa’s third kit of 2023 boasts a scissor-tailed pattern, teal, black, and gold as a base. The scissor-tailed flycatcher is the state bird of Oklahoma and a primary feature on the FC Tulsa crest.

In a press release, FC Tulsa stated that Indigenous Peoples’ Night is “a night crafted to honor and celebrate those who first inhabited the lands of Oklahoma and continue to contribute to its culture, values, and traditions today.”

Harjo explained where her inspiration comes from. 

“I turn to that feeling that I get of being Native, and it’s not a feeling someone can just learn, it’s part of you. It’s a feeling of being Indigenous, you know,” she said. “My style is a contemporary twist on traditional designs. All my designs are original, and come from a place of love. I draw a lot of inspiration from a lot of other artists.”

FC Tulsa is a member of USL Championship. The league features 24 teams from across the country. As of July 14, FC Tulsa was seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. 

Visit shop.fctulsa.com to purchase the franchise’s Indigenous Peoples’ Kit. 

To see more of Dr. Jessica Moore Harjo’s art and fashion, you can visit, www.weomepedesigns.com.