Gov. Fallin's Daughter Defends Headdress Photo

The daughter of Oklahoma's governor is defending a photo of herself wearing a Native American headdress, though the picture was removed from social media sites after criticism that it was insensitive.

Christina Fallin, whose mother is Gov. Mary Fallin, is not Native American. The photo of her in a red-and-white feathered headdress was posted Thursday on the Facebook page of her band with the words "appropriate culturation." She said Friday she feels a "connection to the Native American culture."

Fallin also posted a letter on her Facebook page, which says in part, "we feel that it would not be honest if we did not admit publicly that a woman in a headdress can be a very beautiful thing. You can keep your distance from something your whole life out of fear that you might taint it, or that it might taint you. Or you can embrace it and let it affect you. We chose to live our lives in the latter category."

Native Americans consider the headdresses to be sacred items. Retailer Victoria's Secret and the band No Doubt have apologized in recent years for using Native American dress as fashion statements.

Christina Fallin made headlines in 2011 after videos for a magazine showed her strolling around the governor's mansion in avant-garde fashions.