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A button blanket is wool blanket embellished with
A button blanket is wool blanket embellished with mother-of-pearl
Nacre ( , ), also known as mother-of-pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent.
Nacre is ...
buttons, created by Northwest Coastal tribes, that is worn for ceremonial purposes.
"Ceremonial robes and their associated regalia have been among the most spectacular creations of the Indian people of the Northwest Coast of North America. For generations, these robes have served as insignia of family and clan histories, duties, rights, and privileges, and they are beginning to mark as well a determined presence in contemporary Canadian society. These robes are powerful statements of identity and, donning them, people become in a real sense what they wear."
Rather than sleeping equipment, the blankets are used as cape
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
s and gifts at ceremonial dances and potlatch
A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States,Harkin, Michael E., 2001, Potlatch in Anthropology, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Scienc ...
es.
The blankets were originally acquired from the Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
traders during the mid-19th century. The trade blankets were typically dark blue duffel
Duffel () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp.
The municipality comprises the town of Duffel proper. On 1 January 2020, Duffel had a total population of 17,664. The total ar ...
and decorated with buttons made from abalone
Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen language, Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any small to very large marine life, marine gastropod mollusc in the family (biology), family Haliotidae, which once contained six genera but now cont ...
or dentalium shells. The central crest typically portrayed a symbol of the wearer's family heritage.
The blankets usually have a red border on the upper and lateral edges. A central crest figure is created from the buttons and red flannel appliqué
Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...
. Button blankets are worn over the shoulders and the crest design hangs on the back of the wearer.Wade, 114
Among the people who make button blankets, the blankets are not hung from walls except at funerals or near the graves of chiefs.
Haida
Haida may refer to:
Haida people
Many uses of the word derive from the name of an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America.
* Haida people, an Indigenous ethnic group of North America (Canada)
** Council of the Haida Nati ...
artist Florence Davidson (1896–1993) was known for her button blankets.
In 2015, law student Christina Gray of the Lax Kw'alaams
A lax is a salmon.
LAX as an acronym most commonly refers to Los Angeles International Airport in Southern California, United States.
LAX or Lax may also refer to:
Places
Within Los Angeles
* Union Station (Los Angeles), Los Angeles' main tr ...
Tsimshian nation formally obtained the right to wear a button blanket and cedar hat with her barrister's robes during the ceremony in which she was called to the bar in Ontario. She cited the use of the button blanket as a symbol of her nation's legal traditions.
See also
*Alaska Native art
Alaska Natives, Alaska Native cultures are rich and diverse, and their art forms are representations of their history, skills, tradition, adaptation, and nearly twenty thousand years of continuous life in some of the most remote places on earth. Th ...
*Chilkat weaving
Chilkat weaving is a traditional form of weaving
practiced by Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and other Northwest Coast peoples of Alaska and British Columbia. Chilkat robes are worn by high-ranking tribal members on civic or ceremonial occasions, i ...
*Native American art
The visual arts of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic practices of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present. These include works from South America and North America, which in ...
*Northwest Coast art
Northwest Coast art is the term commonly applied to a style of art created primarily by artists from Tlingit, Haida, Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Tsimshian, Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth and other First Nations and Native American tribes of the Northwes ...
References
Further reading
* Jensen, Doreen and Polly Sargent. ''Robes of Power: Totem Poles on Cloth.'' University of British Columbia Press. Vancouver. 1986. * Wade, Edwin L. ''The Arts of the North American Indian: Native Traditions in Evolution''. Manchester, VT: Hudson Hills, 1986. {{ISBN, 978-0-933920-55-2. Blankets Alaska Native culture Indigenous textile art of the Americas Native American clothing Pacific Northwest art Buttons Seashells in art Ceremonial clothing