Our ancestors stretch behind us in a grand line, don't they? Grand in the sense of scale, but also grand in a playful way: they're called grandparents, after all.
"'You're never alone, because you always have your ancestors watching out for you.' This is what I grew up learning," shares Colleen Echohawk (Pawnee, Athabascan), the designer of our Grand Blessing Wool Blanket. "This design is a tribute to family, to connection, and to belonging. That's a perspective we all share: we all want to belong, and we all want to feel like we're part of something larger."
The design on her Grand Blessing Wool Blanket pays homage to Colleen's grandparents, great-grandparents, and ancestors on both sides of her family, while sharing a traditional Plains symbol. "In Plains art, the cross symbol can represent many things," explains Colleen, "but in the Grand Blessings design, the cross symbolizes the four directions. This is my hope that the person using this blanket can always find their way back to their people and to their self."
Colleen's own large family is a source of inspiration and support. "I grew up very close to my grandma on my mom's side," shares Colleen. "And while my Pawnee grandparents died before I was born, my dad made sure all us kids were still connected to the Pawnee tribe and who ware are culturally as Pawnee people."
North Winds Series
The North Wind brings cold air from the Arctic, and on its wings come tales of green lights that dance across the night sky and snowflakes that sparkle like diamonds. The North Wind is also a trade wind, influencing migration and the exchange of goods for people across the Northern Hemisphere for thousands of years. We’ve combined the poetic and the practical of the North Winds to create our North Winds Series—a collection of Native designed 100% wool blankets produced at a heritage mill in Norway.
The land of glacial fjords and snowy mountains, Norway has a long history of wool textile production. For our North Winds Series, we have partnered with a Norwegian mill specializing in sustainable practices and heritage techniques to produce this special series of Native designed, 100% wool blankets, fusing traditional wool textile knowledge from two ancient traditions with two modern companies working to keep cultural art thriving. This unique partnership allows us to work with a small mill that, like Eighth Generation, values sustainability and cultural practices, while sharing Indigenous art and excellence with Nordic partners. As a vertical mill, all parts of the wool blanket production takes place in the same area—the sheep are raised and tended, the wool sheered, processed, and spun into yarn, and the blankets woven in one sustainable operation. These luxurious, 100% wool blankets are of a thick, heavy weight, perfect cuddling under while you watch the snow fall outside your window.
- Made in a vertical mill in Norway
- Fabric content: 100% Norwegian wool
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Blanket size: 53.15 in x 78.74 in / 135 cm x 200 cm
- Colors include cream and burnt orange
Thank you for supporting Inspired Natives®, not "Native-inspired."
Product Care:
- Spot clean only; if needed, hand wash and air dry; lay flat to dry away from direct sunlight
- Clean liquid stains immediately with warm water and mild detergent
- Never use harsh chemicals or scrub wool
- Steam to de-wrinkle
- Store blanket away from direct sunlight
