Natural Practices: The Creative Autonomy Encoded within First Nations Dye and Weaving Processes of the Chilkat Blanket

Abstract

This article describes two research residencies undertaken at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) during the months of August and October 2019, wherein Dr. Mark Joseph O’Connell looked specifically at weaving and dye techniques found in a form of ceremonial dancing blanket called the Chilkat. The examination of these artifacts provides valuable information on pre-colonial First Nations industry, the ongoing impacts of colonial processes, and also offers clues to a pre-colonial fashion history, one that re-contextualizes these exquisitely crafted garments and thereby re-situates them within previously held notions of political and social spheres of community life. This research provides a more nuanced and inclusive framework of Canadian fashion history, as well as information concerning pre-colonial First Nations industry and the ongoing impacts of colonial processes; It also to highlights the extraordinary techniques and iconography employed in their manufacture. Efforts toward cultural preservation through creative labor can also be examined through Chilkat artistry, as craft-based agency has served as a conduit for preserving cultural history as well as providing an ongoing means of ensuring First Nations autonomy and agency.