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Continue ShoppingEighth Generation is a Seattle-based art and lifestyle brand owned by the Snoqualmie Tribe. It was founded in 2008 when Louie Gong (Nooksack)—an artist, activist and educator widely known for merging traditional Coast Salish art with influences from his urban environment to make strong statements about identity—started customizing shoes in his living room. Now the first Native-owned company to ever produce wool blankets, Eighth Generation is a proud participant in the global economy.
Eighth Generation provides a strong, ethical alternative to “Native-inspired” art and products through its artist-centric approach and 100% Native designed products. Our Inspired Natives™ Project, anchored by the tagline “Inspired Natives™, not Native-inspired,” builds business capacity among cultural artists while addressing the economic impact of cultural appropriation.
Louie Gong and the Eighth Generation staff in 2016
In 2015, Eighth Generation became the first Native-owned business in the US or Canada to sell Native-designed wool blankets, reclaiming a market that had been dominated by non-Native companies using fake "Native-inspired" designs for over a century. That same year, Louie and several important community members, including Colleen Echohawk, presented before the Pike Place Market board to discuss the critical importance of having a Native-owned business in Pike Place Market. We opened our flagship store in the Market in 2016, quickly becoming a beloved fixture in the neighborhood. We launched our own made-in-house wool textile line in 2020—another first for a Native-owned business. In 2022, Louie stepped down as CEO (although he remains an Inspired Natives™ Collaborator), and we were joined by Colleen Echohawk (Pawnee, Athabaskan) as our new CEO.
Founder Louie Gong's bio
CEO Colleen Echohawk's bio
Colleen Echohawk, Louie Gong, and many of the Eighth Generation staff in February 2022
Eighth Generation only works with authentic Native (Native American, First Nations, or Indigenous) artists. Proof of tribal enrollment, as well as other factors, may be used in our assessment of whether an artist is a good match for the Eighth Generation brand.