Registered Blankets

THE GIFT OF LIFE - Native American beliefs are closely tied to the natural world. Universally, rain - and water itself - is considered to be life-giving and life-sustaining. For all tribes, daily activities revolve around rain and water. In the Northwest, rivers and precipitation are abundant; fishing provides food and dry shelters are important. In the Central Plains, rainfall keeps the grasslands lush for grazing buffalo and other game. In the arid Southwest, great care is taken to preserve each drop. Everywhere, rain and water are crucial for the cultivation of crops and the continuance of life. Running water symbolizes constant life; rain clouds mean good prospects; a raindrop means good luck. The traditional rain-dance is a call for fertility, growth and prosperity. The Gift of Life blanket summons, welcomes and praises this precious element, with symbols representing mountains, rivers, "Tawa" the sun-god, lightning, clouds, corn and rain itself.

The THREAD OF LIFE blanket, introduced in 2006, is representative of the timeless beauty of Navajo weaving has been treasured by Native Americans, collectors and art connoisseurs for centuries. The nomadic Navajo believed spiritual guides called the Holy People had led them to the Southwest. One of them, Spider Man, taught the People to make a loom from sunshine, lightning and rain. Spider Woman taught them to weave. So by the time Spanish explorers arrived in the 16th century, the Navajo were already accomplished weavers. The Spanish brought with them their churro sheep and thus the birth of wool weaving among the Navajo. Patterns incorporated traditional Native American designs as well as Spanish and other European motifs discovered through trade. Our "Thread of Life" blanket is a tribute to these talented weavers and their legacy of extraordinary art. Like Navajo legends and love of beauty, these superb weaving skills are passed from generation to generation and flourish today. Alternating stripes with diamonds, triangles or zigzag lines and wavy bands such as those seen in our Thread of Life Blanket were common. Narrow bands alternate with wider ones creating horizontal movement. Larger bands on either end serve as a frame for the work.

The CELEBRATE THE HORSE depicts a brave warrior astride a swift steed thundering across the plain, accompanied by wild mustangs perhaps yet to be tamed. Similar vivid images were painted on buffalo hides by Plains Indians in the 1800s. Our Celebrate the Horse blanket is based on a design from the Blackfoot tribe, expert horsemen who called the animal "elk-horse" for its great size. The arrival of the horse, brought to the Americas by sixteenth-century Spanish Conquistadors, changed forever the culture of Native Americans. Trading among tribes, herding sheep and hunting buffalo, following migrating game, even protecting territories became dependent on the horse for many Native Americans. Eventually Sioux, Cayuse, Nez Perce, Crow, Comanche, Cheyenne, Kiowa and other tribes were horse-based societies and cultures