{{Short description|Wool blanket embellished with mother-of-pearl buttons}}
[[File:Button Blanket MET DT261799.jpg|thumb|Button blanket circa 1880 in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
[[File:Button blanket in Juneau.jpg|thumb|Contemporary button blanket shown by its maker at the Goldbelt Tram in Juneau, Alaska]]
A '''button blanket''' is wool blanket embellished with mother-of-pearl buttons, created by Northwest Coastal tribes, that is worn for ceremonial purposes. The blankets are used as capes and gifts at ceremonial dances and potlatches, and not used for sleeping.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.shannonthunderbird.com/Pacific%20Northwest%20Coast.htm |title=The Tsimshian<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2007-05-06 |archive-date=2007-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070530062600/http://www.shannonthunderbird.com/Pacific%20Northwest%20Coast.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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. Button blankets are worn over the shoulders and the crest design hangs on the back of the wearer.<ref name="w114">Wade, 114</ref>
"Ceremonial robes and their associated regalia are generationally significant for being the insignias of family, clan histories, duties, rights, and privileges. 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. They serve as statements of Indigenous identity especially in contemporary Canadian society.<ref>Jensen, Doreen and Polly Sargent. Robes of Power: Totem Poles on Cloth. University of British Columbia Press. Vancouver. 1986. {{ISBN|0-7748-0264-2}} </ref>
The blankets were originally acquired from the Hudson's Bay Company traders during the mid-19th century.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ammsa.com/achieve/AA99-D.Grant.html |title=Windspeaker profiles of outstanding Aboriginal people |access-date=2007-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006175330/http://www.ammsa.com/achieve/AA99-D.Grant.html |archive-date=2007-10-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The trade blankets were typically dark blue duffel and decorated with buttons made from abalone or dentalium shells.<ref>[http://www.civilization.ca/tresors/treasure/232eng.html Civilization.ca - Treasures Gallery - Button blankets]</ref> The central crest typically portrayed a symbol of the wearer's family heritage.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.warmuseum.ca/aborig/grand/ghhi2eng.html |title=Civilization.ca - Grand Hall - Haida house (interior) |access-date=2007-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051127194424/http://warmuseum.ca/aborig/grand/ghhi2eng.html |archive-date=2005-11-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Among the people who make button blankets, the blankets are not hung from walls except at funerals or near the graves of chiefs.<ref name=w114/>
Haida artist Florence Davidson (1896–1993) was known for her button blankets.
In 2015, law student Christina Gray of the Lax Kw'alaams 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.<ref>{{cite news|first=Simona|last=Chiose|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/law-student-plans-to-wrap-herself-in-first-nations-heritage-at-graduation/article25051736/|title=Law student plans to wrap herself in First Nations heritage at graduation|work=The Globe and Mail|date=June 21, 2015}}</ref>
==See also== *Alaska Native art *Chilkat weaving *Native American art *Northwest Coast art *Hudson's Bay point blanket
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== * Jensen, Doreen and Polly Sargent. ''Robes of Power: Totem Poles on Cloth.'' University of British Columbia Press. Vancouver. 1986. {{ISBN|0-7748-0264-2}} * 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}}.
Category:Blankets Category:Alaska Native culture Category:Indigenous textile art of the Americas Category:Native American clothing Category:Pacific Northwest art Category:Buttons Category:Seashells in art Category:Ceremonial clothing