The Death of the Mohawk

Article written by: Andrew Ricketts
Posted on: June 5, 2009

A brief history lesson:

The Iroquois nation of New York had several groups, and among them, the Mohawk tribe. The Mohawk hairstyle, as part of their tradition, was a signifier for the tribe’s warriors headed into battle. The Mohawks grew their hair long to become closer to God, and when warfare approached they shaved off all but one sleek strip from front to back. The strip was the last remaining strand connecting them to the higher power.

Fast forward a few hundred years to the 1980’s, when the mohawk made a comeback.

Granted, this era had its fair share of mohawk-ing for superficial style purposes, but it was still respected as a symbol of the iconoclast. Rebels with or without cause could colorfully dye and isolate that strip of hair and proclaim individuality and oddity all in one. Mr. T was a notable Mohawker who allowed Black folks to loudly vouch for I-got-Indian-in-my-family pride. The punk rock movement also adopted the Mohawk as a preferred ‘do for raging, self-important rebels.

And then Diddy ruined it.

Around 2003, in a classic Diddy display of ego-cooning gone wrong, Sean Combs unveiled his pertly styled mohawk for the world to see before running the New York marathon. Maybe it was a Puffy-style tribute to his own sense of rebellion, but with all the S-Curl dripping down his hair patch, it looked like a Brazilian wax job fell neatly on his head. That, and Diddy had already reached and passed the apex of his fame as a producer, and he was effectively planning his public descent into the world of reality show moguls with too much production money to burn. The mohawk was a way for him to make a splash while quietly affirming that, yes, he would do just about anything for *cough* more camera time.

As a black man, I’m often disappointed by the lack of viable hair options given how conducive my hair texture is to sculpture. That barber chart we all grew up knowing and loving featured many of the same short-coiffed styles from the late eighties into the millennium. Aside from a line or part here and there, brothers were fairly limited in their choices for conventional yet bold cuts. God reluctantly forgave some of the abysmal alternative hair trends like the Jheri Curl shag, the Gumby and the 360 Grease Wave, because we were so tired of being bored with our hair that we had to swim out into bleak waters in the name of creativity.

But the current mohawk trend that has taken over 2008-2009 is beyond heaven’s greatest mercy. For one, I’m sure some Native Mohawks are disappointed that their signature hairstyle is being co-opted by run-of-the-mill non-warrior dickheads like Day 26’s frontman. To top it all off, there are all kinds of mohawk go-betweens like Kanye’s “mull-hawk” (mullet-mohawk combo) and the ever so clever “faux hawk” (really?) that change a classic into a frivolous experiment in temporary style. In other words, if we’re going all the way with this mohawk thing, we should call it by another name or risk the wrath of some great Iroquois warrior with a curse waiting for just such an occasion.

If every arrogant star athlete, reality show contestant, and father-son duo can adopt a new kind of mohawk whenever it suits them, we lose the essence of what traditional cultural signifiers like the mohawk can really mean. We have too much hair potential to waste it on ruining a truly unique and powerful adornment.