Haida Button Blankets: Northwest Coast Art
Button Blankets: The Ceremonial Robes of the Northwest Coast
Button blankets are the iconic ceremonial garments of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast — particularly the Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Kwakwaka'wakw nations. Created from trade wool adorned with mother-of-pearl buttons and appliquéd designs, these robes represent a creative fusion of Indigenous artistic traditions and European trade materials.
Historical Origins
Button blankets emerged in the mid-19th century when Hudson's Bay Company trade blankets became available. Indigenous women adapted their existing artistic traditions — previously expressed in cedar bark weaving and painted hides — to the new wool material. Mother-of-pearl buttons (obtained through trade) became the primary decorative medium.
Design System
Button blankets follow the strict formline design system of Northwest Coast art:
- Primary formline: Bold black outlines defining the main shapes (animal crests)
- Secondary formline: Red areas filling important body parts
- Tertiary elements: Smaller blue-green details in joints and eyes
The central design is typically a clan crest — Raven, Eagle, Killer Whale, Bear, or Frog — rendered in the distinctive ovoid and U-form shapes that characterize Northwest Coast art.
Construction
A button blanket consists of a rectangular wool blanket (usually navy or black) with a red flannel border. The crest design is created by sewing hundreds of pearl buttons along formline outlines, with red felt appliqué filling secondary areas. The blanket is worn draped over the shoulders and secured at the neck with a tie or brooch.
Ceremonial Use
Button blankets are worn at potlatches — ceremonial feasts involving gift-giving, storytelling, and the affirmation of clan rights and privileges. When a dancer rises wearing a button blanket and performs the associated crest dance, they are enacting ancestral rights that have been held by their family for generations.
