Skip to main content
Wednesday, November 11, 2026Nov 11

Urban Outfitters squaring off against Navajo Nation in court

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 201, file photo, purchased items from Urban Outfitters' Navajo line are shown in Tempe, Ariz.  The Navajo Nation is suing Urban Outfitters months after the tribe sent a cease and desist letter to the clothing retailer demanding it pull the "Navajo" name from its products. The lawsuit filed late Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in U.S. Federal Court in New Mexico alleges trademark infringements and violations of the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act.  (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 14, 201, file photo, purchased items from Urban Outfitters' Navajo line are shown in Tempe, Ariz. The Navajo Nation is suing Urban Outfitters months after the tribe sent a cease and desist letter to the clothing retailer demanding it pull the "Navajo" name from its products. The lawsuit filed late Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in U.S. Federal Court in New Mexico alleges trademark infringements and violations of the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act. (AP Photo/Matt York, File) FILE - In this Oct. 14, 201, file photo, purchased items from Urban Outfitters' Navajo line are shown in Tempe, Ariz. The Navajo Nation is suing Urban Outfitters months after the tribe sent a cease and desist letter to the clothing retailer demanding it pull the "Navajo" name from its products. The lawsuit filed late Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in U.S. Federal Court in New Mexico alleges trademark infringements and violations of the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – The Navajo Nation is seeking potentially millions of dollars from Urban Outfitters Inc. over clothing, jewelry and other merchandise bearing the tribe’s name that the popular retailer has sold.

The clothing chain will ask a federal judge in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday to limit how far back in time the tribe can go to seek money over the company’s products, which included everything from necklaces, jackets and pants to a flask and underwear with the “Navajo” name.

The tribe’s lawsuit alleging trademark violations has been working its way through the courts for more than three years. Efforts to settle the case featuring two unlikely foes have failed as the tribe seeks vast sums of money from the company that also owns the Anthropologie and Free People brands.

Here are things to know about the case:

___