Independent news from the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance

Easy Holiday Gift ideas for the #NativeNerd in your family

Indian Country Today

Native Nerds are super easy to buy for … here’s a few tips.

Well, what have we here. Thanks-mourning is over and it is officially Native American Heritage Day. Aka Black Friday, though I always call it red Friday because it is Native American Heritage Day.

I spent some time today with my nephew and got him a high-tech usb microphone for his computer so he can put together his ‘sick beats.’ He is a damn fine musician at 16 years of age, going on 17. How the years do fly.

So as people are gearing up for the holidays, gift-giving is coming to their minds, and if you have a nerd in the family (don’t we all?) you might be thinking of some fun ideas.

That said, here are a few ideas for all of your techhy, nerdy, Native dudes or dudettes in the family.

Gift Cards

Look, this is the biggest win. Don’t think for one second we are going to think you are neglectful or thoughtless with the simplicity of a gift card. You just can’t lose, video games, comics, t-shirts, that usb connector thing we need to attach audio to the whatever is … that thing we know we need that you don’t, not truly think about. BUT … Any Native Nerd LOVES a gift card.

Examples:

Google Play

Amazon

Game Stop (Some folks are picky – ask first)

iTunes (Not for me … but some like ‘blecch’ apple)

Target

OfficeMax

Comic T-Shirts

Marvel, DC, Spider Man, Venom, Carnage, Batman etc.etc. t-shirts can be cheaper in the holiday season, so this is a good route. There are several types of t-shirt people so please ask which one we are. There are those who like form fitting softer t-shirts with small sleeves, big baggy shirt wearers, DC-Only, Marvel-Only etc. etc. make sure to get specifics, A Batman lover may not ever be caught dead wearing a Spider Man shirt, etc.

Comic Books

We might be particular about which we like, but if you find out and get a ‘good’ comic you can be a superstar. Ask the comic book shop vendor for a ‘good’ comic or perhaps a mini-series on the character your nerd gift receiver loves. This is a good move to get on any Native nerd’s good side.

Action Figures

You know how it seems we might have a bunch of action figures on our desk and don’t have room for much more? Actually no, we always have room for many, many, many, many more. One of my favorite Xmas gifts was a 5-dollar 1984 Spider man action figure my mom-in-law got me. Antique stores or comic stores have these things. New stuff is cool, but childhood stuff is gold.

Anything that embraces a Native theme and Nerd theme

Jeffrey Veregge’s comics, a beaded Batman medallion, beaded nerd glasses, a Native tie pin, etc. etc. Anybody that can find a combo is an awesome person.

Check out cool stuff on Tribe Called Geek!

www.atribecalledgeek.com/merch and

Official A Tribe Called Geek Merchandise

Cool Stuff on Amazon ideas … ship it to your home or to them

Here are some random stocking-stuffers and fun stuff for your nerdy types out there:

  1. Outlets with USB adapters $9.95
  2. Star Wars finger puppets – $9.49
  3. A miniature drone – $19.99
  4. Pluto – Never Forget T-shirt – $10
  5. Internet was down, thought I’d come outside today T-shirt – $12 avg.

Did I mention gift cards???

Happy Native American Heritage Day and Month!

P.S. Happy Holidays to my lovely Del, the best gift-giver in the world!

Follow fellow Native Nerd, Vincent Schilling associate editor for Indian Country Today at@VinceSchilling– Make sure to use the Hashtag #NativeNerd

Email –vschilling@indiancountrytoday.com

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear is the founder and director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization with offices in Bismarck, N.D. and the Fort Berthold Reservation. Jodi spent 15 years reporting for the mainstream press. She's been awarded prestigious Nieman and John S. Knight journalism fellowships at Harvard and Stanford, respectively. She also an MIT Knight Science Journalism Project fellow. Her writing is featured in "The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity," published by Columbia University Press. Jodi currently serves as a Society of Professional Journalists at-large board member, an SPJ Foundation board member, and she chairs the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee. Jodi has won top journalism awards from mainstream and Native press organizations. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.