$72.00
$198.00
$72.00
$150.00
The salmon is a primary staple of both the diet and culture of Coast Salish and Northwest Native people.
This particular design was inspired by a fishing trip to the Chehalis River in British Columbia. Louie’s Uncle Pete hooked a giant coho. Instead of trying to swim away downstream, the salmon dove down toward the bottom of the river. Although Uncle Pete ultimately brought the coho in, its unexpected dive was an image that stuck with Louie, and this piece was one of his first explorations into merging spray paint with Coast Salish designs. The dynamic motion and materials used are characteristic of Louie’s aesthetic that seamlessly blends the contemporary and traditional.
$72.00
$200.00
The original "Our Home" was a 30" x 40" mixed media painting.
Over the last few years, this design has also grown to symbolize Indigenous presence and unity. It was initially developed in 2010 as branding for the Seattle Indian Health Board’s Indigenous Cultures Day event. In 2015, a variation of this design was also adopted as the mark of Seattle’s successful movement to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day.
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5% of all blanket sales support the Inspired Natives Grant for emerging arts entrepreneurs.
The "Reflection" blanket represents the prayer for rain. During monsoon season, the cisterns at Acoma become full again. It is then the people visit the cisterns to gather water for drinking. When you look down to see the cisterns full and you are met with your reflection, you can't help but smile with gratitude. It is a reminder that "water is life." The design features Acoma Pueblo abstract symbols representing mountains, clouds, and rain.
$150.00
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The "Renewal" design, which is characteristic of the woodlands floral tradition, tells the story of physical and spiritual renewal. It honors the land through representations of the wild plum flower, the water through our beloved wild rice, and healing through the dogwood flower, which is used to create traditional tobacco.
The scallop shapes on each end of the design – which are inspired by Sarah’s own hand-made regalia – symbolize the idea that humans are part of nature and that the renewal and revitalization of the land, water, sky and spirit require us to understand and practice our ancestral ways.
5% of all blanket sales support the Inspired Natives Grant for emerging arts entrepreneurs.
$185.00
This design was created by Louie Gong (Nooksack) after researching traditional Coast Salish weaving. Although our blankets are created using modern technology, it was very important to Louie that he create a design that could be replicated with traditional Salish weaving methods.
Salish art is rarely represented in contemporary textiles, and Louie is proud to help push this particular, often overlooked form to the forefront of Native art and product offerings.
5% of all blanket sales support the Inspired Natives Grant for emerging arts entrepreneurs.
$205.00
The "Thunderbird Arrives" blanket is available at the Eighth Generation's Pike Place Market store.
The "Thunderbird Arrives" blanket was created to commemorate the Evergreen Longhouse's 20th Anniversary. The design was developed collaboratively by Louie Gong (Nooksack) and a team of staff and artists representing the Longhouse. It features a bold Thunderbird, bordered by patterns representing the Salish and Maori communities with whom the Longhouse maintains close ties. It is the first wool blanket ever created by a Native-owned company.
5% of all blanket sales support the Inspired Natives Grant for emerging arts entrepreneurs.
$72.00
This Coast Salish hummingbird design was originally hand-drawn by Louie on a traditional hand drum. Often thought to be a harbinger of good news, the hummingbird is the perfect symbol to fill your living spaces with.
$38.00
Salish art is rarely represented in contemporary textiles, and Louie is proud to help push this particular, often overlooked form to the forefront of Native art and product offerings.
Thanks for supporting Inspired Natives, not Native-inspired. #inspirednatives
$218.00
"In a time when many choose to divide & build walls, we choose to find beauty & commonality in one another. All walks of life, all my relations.” ~ Bethany Yellowtail
The All My Relations blanket - the very first offering in our Groundbreakers Series - features designs of the Apsaalooke (Crow) & Tsetsehestahese/So’taeo’o (Northern Cheyenne) to honor & recognize the proud nations of designer Bethany Yellowtail.
Cross-laden vertical stripes & crosses speak to Crow elements, while horizontal stripes and the Morning Star pattern reflect the Northern Cheyenne. Traditionally, the two tribes were enemies with a longstanding rivalry dating back to the days when they lived freely & buffalo roamed the Great Plains. This design weaves the differences and blends the similarities of each tribal nation in a harmonious symbol of unity.
5% of all blanket sales support the Inspired Natives Grant for emerging arts entrepreneurs.
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Designed by Inspired Natives Project collaborator, Sarah Agaton Howes (Anishinaabe), this colorful tote acts as a respectful call out to traditional Ojibwe bandolier bags, featuring artwork that combines old school Ojibwe Floral with our signature "beaded" style illustration to create a versatile and practical piece of art.
With an extra wide and sturdy strap, you can comfortably wear this tote both across your chest or shoulder strap style. An inside pocket provides easy access to smaller items.
$25.00
Are you shopping for someone else but not sure what to give them? Up against...
$32.00
New and old. Individual and community. Radical and Traditional. Wearing these "visionary" earrings will remind you to view the world from multiple perspectives!
This two-sided earring features a contemporary take on a classic Northwest Coast eye design.
The hand-painted maple wood compliments northwest Native art traditions -- and every earring features a unique wood grain and paint job that can never be duplicated. The natural elements are balanced by a glossy finish and vibrant colors of the the acrylic pupil. The jump ring and hook have a gun metal finish.
This product is hand-painted, machine cut, and assembled in Louie's studio in Seattle, Washington.
Thanks for supporting Inspired Natives, not Native-inspired. #inspirednatives
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Our hats are developed in collaboration with Seattle-based Ebbet's Field Flannels and made in the USA with the highest quality materials.
Thanks for supporting Inspired Natives, not Native-inspired. #inspirednatives
$12.00
This versatile eagle pendant, which is made from painted and laser etched cherry wood in our Seattle studio, is the perfect gift. It looks great as a necklace, ornament or hanging on your rear view mirror.
Thanks for supporting Inspired Natives, not Native-inspired. #inspirednatives
$200.00
From first contact, the indigenous people of North America have had a complicated relationship with Western religion. During the boarding school era of colonization (roughly mid-1800s to the 1970s), a high percentage of Native people were forcibly taken from their homes and raised in church-run, government-sanctioned boarding schools. The purpose of these schools wasn’t so much education, as it was “Kill the Indian, save the man” -- the systematic destruction of Native language, traditions, and family unit.
My Grandma, as was very typical of her generation, was taken from her home when she was a child and raised by nuns and priests in a Catholic boarding school far away. Every type of abuse you might imagine, she experienced. Although my Grandma spent 10 years in the boarding school, she never really learned to read and write. Yet until she passed away in 2002, she kept a rosary by her bed and a cross at each entrance of the house.
These pieces are meant to generate dialogue around the betrayal of trust between Indigenous communities and the churches responsible for their welfare and “development”. Is this a predator-prey relationship, or is there genuine care for the lamb -- as is typically portrayed in religious imagery?
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In 2010, Louie adopted a scruffy-looking wild tabby kitten from the Muckleshoot Reservation, where he was working at the time. On his first night at Louie’s house, an exhausted “Rez Cat” curled up in his new litter box and went to sleep, presumably because he was used to sleeping in dirt and gravel. As Rez Cat got older, he would often stay out all night hunting and leave various “presents” at Louie’s doorstop in the morning. Since then, Rez Cat has been a common subject in Louie’s art (and now has a softer bed to rest on). In this piece, Rez Cat is stalking a Coast Salish hummingbird. Today, like every day, is both a good and bad day -- it all depends on perspective.
The original 18" x 24" painting (spray paint, acrylica and wood stain on wool panel) was featured in "Rebels of the Floating World" at Artxchange Gallery in Seattle's Pioneer Square.
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If there's anything better than a cute kitten illustration, it's an illustration of a cute kitten and a killer whale working together to follow their dreams.
Five years ago (right about the time he discovered art), Eighth Generation founder Louie Gong found a feral kitten meowing loudly outside Muckleshoot Tribal College on the Muckleshoot reservation. The future looked bleak for the little tabby, who was scraggy, dehydrated, and full of fleas and ear mites. So Louie took him home that evening with plans to bring him to a vet the next morning for medical attention, and then to a shelter for eventual adoption. When the kitten immediately fell asleep in Louie's passenger seat, however, he realized he had just adopted a cat -- publicly known as Rez Cat. Later that same night, Rez Cat -- obviously used to sleeping in the woods -- chose to curl up in a ball and pass out inside his litter box.
A photo of that moment generated some interest from cat lovers when posted to Facebook. Rez Cat started showing up in Louie's social media photos frequently, sometimes on purpose and sometimes by accident, and he eventually developed a following of his own. After being told numerous times by people all over the country "We love Rez Cat!" and "We want more Rez Cat", Louie decided to develop a character inspired by his charismatic friend. This t-shirt is his first effort to embody Rez Cat in an Eighth Generation product.
Rez Cat's real name is Maosie. He's now a highly vocal, 18-pound Goliath that brings humor and a demand for snacks to everyone he encounters.
Thanks for supporting Inspired Natives, not Native-inspired. #inspirednatives
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If there's anything better than a cute kitten illustration, it's an illustration of a cute kitten and a killer whale working together to follow their dreams.
Five years ago (right about the time he discovered art), Eighth Generation founder Louie Gong found a feral kitten meowing loudly outside Muckleshoot Tribal College on the Muckleshoot reservation. The future looked bleak for the little tabby, who was scraggy, dehydrated, and full of fleas and ear mites. So Louie took him home that evening with plans to bring him to a vet the next morning for medical attention, and then to a shelter for eventual adoption. When the kitten immediately fell asleep in Louie's passenger seat, however, he realized he had just adopted a cat -- publicly known as Rez Cat. Later that same night, Rez Cat -- obviously used to sleeping in the woods -- chose to curl up in a ball and pass out inside his litter box.
A photo of that moment generated some interest from cat lovers when posted to Facebook. Rez Cat started showing up in Louie's social media photos frequently, sometimes on purpose and sometimes by accident, and he eventually developed a following of his own. After being told numerous times by people all over the country "We love Rez Cat!" and "We want more Rez Cat", Louie decided to develop a character inspired by his charismatic friend. This t-shirt is his first effort to embody Rez Cat in an Eighth Generation product.
Rez Cat's real name is Maosie. He's now a highly vocal, 18-pound Goliath that brings humor and a demand for snacks to everyone he encounters.
Thanks for supporting Inspired Natives, not Native-inspired. #inspirednatives
Sold Out
Our hats are developed in collaboration with Seattle-based Ebbet's Field Flannels and made in the USA with the highest quality materials.
Thanks for supporting Inspired Natives, not Native-inspired. #inspirednatives
