For the Blackfeet, the butterfly is the bringer of good dreams. You will often find butterflies on painted tipis and in the beadwork of Blackfeet people.

Blackfeet/Piikani artist and Inspired Natives™ Collaborator John Isaiah Pepion drew inspiration from the butterfly designs that flit across the rawhide parfleche designs of the Plains Indians. Traditional parfleche are beautifully embellished rawhide containers, decorated by painting, incising, or both. This unique throw blanket is a beautiful modern interpretation of these traditional designs, wrapping the wearer in a wish for good dreams and untroubled sleep.

Made in USA
100% cotton
Blanket size: (60" X 50"/ 152.4 cm x 127cm)
Colors include cream, dark red, ochre yellow, and blue
Machine wash in cold water on gentle cycle, mild detergent
Non-chlorine bleach when needed
Tumble dry

Thank you for supporting Inspired Natives™, not "Native-inspired."

Cultural Context:

A parfleche box made of rawhide painted with natural pigments in blue, yellow, green, and red

A parfleche is a container made of rawhide, historically created by Plains, Plateau, and Great Basin women artists. Today, parfleches are made by both men and women, and can be everyday items as well as ceremonial. Parfleche are often highly decorated with geometric designs. Traditional parfleche artists used natural pigments such as charcoal, algae, and ochre.

This example is a parfleche box John made. It is crafted from buffalo rawhide, and John used traditional natural earth pigment to paint the “butterfly” design.