The Northwest Coast culture area is found along the Pacific Coast north of California and between the Cascade Mountains and the ocean. This area is the home to many Indian nations who traditionally based their economy on the use of seacoast and river ecological resources. This is an area which stretches from the Tlingit homelands in Alaska to the Tolowa homelands in northern California. The Northwest Coast is a region in which an entrenched and highly valued artistic tradition flourished. This artistic tradition took many forms including carving on both wood and stone, and weaving.
With regard to the Tlingit, Rosita Worl, in her entry on the Tlingit in the Encyclopedia of North American Indians, writes:
“Though their art has gained international renown, the Tlingits believe it embodies more than aesthetic qualities. For them, its visual features—including clan crests—symbolize their social organization and depict their spiritual relationship to wildlife and the environment.”
Shown above is a Chilkat Blanket displayed at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, Washington.
One of the best examples of Northwest Coast weaving can be seen in the Chilkat Dancing Blankets. These blankets combine the twining of mountain goat wool and cedar bark with the images of mythological creatures. In a 1907 article reprinted in A Wealth of Thought: Franz Boas on Native American Art, Franz Boas reports:
“The design of the Chilkat blankets take a unique position among woven designs in America, as well in their technical execution as in the forms that are represented. While ordinarily designs in weaving are made by the use of different colors in warp and woof, the Chilkat blankets, somewhat like the weavings of Peru, are made up of separate units, which are sewed or woven together…”
Writing about the Tlingit, ethnographer Kalervo Oberg, in his book The Social Economy of the Tlingit Indians, says:
“The Chilcat blanket is considered by many as equal to the best weaving of the ancient Peruvians and Mexicans.”
According to Bill Holm, the curator for Northwest Coast Indian Art at the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum in Seattle, in his forward to The Chilkat Dancing Blanket:
“Of all the treasures born of this opulent society, the Chilkat Blanket expresses most graphically ideals of nobility and prestigious display.”
The blanket is bounded by three bands of solid color: white, black, and yellow. Within the broad yellow band are the stylized clan crests or emblems.
With regard to the patterns used in the Chilkat blankets, Aldona Jonaitis, in her introduction to A Wealth of Thought: Franz Boas on Native American Art, writes:
“The basic composition of most Chilkat blankets is tripartite, with the central field being the largest. The central field contains the principal representation of the animal or animals depicted, while the two symmetrical flanking fields illustrate the side and back of the central animal (split down the middle), its den, or smaller animals.”
Concerning the patterns, Christian Feest, in his book Native Arts of North America, notes:
“…the central zone is best visible when the blanket is draped over the shoulders and carries the major design.”
According to weaver Cheryl Samuel, in her book The Chilkat Dancing Blanket:
“Some of the designs are easily recognized, but the great majority, although eyes and feet may be recognizable in themselves, are very difficult to combine into a total form.”
Aldona Jonaitis writes:
“Because the weaver must depict the subject matter in a consistent fashion determined by the culturally imposed formal rules of Chilkat blanket manufacture, regardless of the animal intended to be represented, images sometimes become extremely abstract. Not only are the principal subjects of these blankets sometimes difficult to identify definitely, some of the decorative elements on them are obscure.”
Traditionally, it would take a year or more to make a Chilkat Blanket. While the weaving is done by women, the actual pattern is created by men. Franz Boas explains:
“The pattern is prepared by the men, who paint it on pattern boards. These pattern boards are placed by the women by the side of the blanket, and are transferred directly to the weaving…”
Some Repatriated Chilkat Blankets
In 2018, a group of Tlingit representatives of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes in Alaska investigated the collections of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC) in Spokane, Washington. Shown below are the Chilkat blankets which were identified as being qualified for repatriation. According to the display:
“It is with the blessing and permission of the Tlingit people that we celebrate these important and sacred objects before they are returned to southeast Alaska and reunited with Tlingit culture keepers.”
The display describes the blankets this way:
“Chilkat blankets are traditional garments worn by clan leaders during dances and ceremonies; the long fringe emphasizes the movement of the wearer during traditional dances. Designs represent the wearer’s clan or family history and are achieved with complex and unique weaving techniques. These blankets are woven of cedar bark and mountain goat wool or fur and a single blanket can take several months to create.”
Shown above is a detail of the blanket.
Shown above is a Chilkat apron created by Mary Ebbetts Hunt (1823-1919), a Tongass Tlingit woman of the Gaanxádi clan.
According to the display:
“A Chilkat apron is a piece of traditional regalia worn during ceremonies and dances. Ceremonial regalia may include tunics, blankets, robes, aprons, vests, and leggings. Specific designs emphasize the wearer’s clan and status among the community.”
Shown above is a detail from the apron.
Shown above is a Chilkat Blanket (naadxhein).
Shown above is a detail of the Chilkat Blanket.
Another detail of the Chilkat Blanket.
A detail of the outer panel of the Chilkat Blanket.
Indians 101
Twice each week—on Tuesdays and Thursdays—this series looks at various American Indian topics. More about the Indian nations of the Northwest Coast from this series:
Indians 101: The Russians and the Tlingit
Indians 101: The Northwest Coast Culture Area
Indians 101: Northwest Coast Canoes
Indians 101: Some repatriated Tlingit artifacts (photo diary)
Indians 101: Outlawing the potlatch in Canada
Indians 101: Tlingit clan hats (photo diary)
Indians 101: A very short overview of the Northwest Coast Potlatch
Indians 101: Tlingit Migrations