ginew pendleton blanket

GINEW Thunderbird Coat – a closer look

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A man stands in the desert, the horizon glowing with either sunrise or sunset, wearing Ginew denim jeans and jacket.

Ginew and Pendleton

As we come to the end of a year of stellar projects, co-brandings and collaborations, we want to call out the GINEW Thunderbird coats as one of our favorite projects. These coats are made by GINEW, the only Native American owned premium denim collection. Focusing on American-made materials, GINEW incorporate elements of their Native American heritage (Ojibwe, Oneida, & Mohican) to express a contemporary, Native voice through premium apparel and accessories.

Here is GINEW’s press release about the coat:

Native American-owned apparel co. Ginew of Portland, Oregon announces the release of the THUNDERBIRD COAT. An elevation of a classic piece with intricate details throughout. The THUNDERBIRD COAT tastefully incorporates the tribal (Ojibwe & Oneida) designs and textiles of the brand owners, with hunted deerskin collar (YES! Hunted by Ginew + family), premium denim, custom PENDLETON® lining, and Ft Lonesome chain-stitched Thunderbird…

The pinnacle of our inspiration for the collection this year – the THUNDERBIRD COAT – encompasses a range of emotions and experiences from an eleven-day road trip in our 1971 F250…from our ancestral homelands of the Great Lakes to the Pacific Northwest. Through the boreal forests along Lake Superior, across the plains and badlands of Dakota & Cheyenne lands, to the high desert and ultimately the temperate rainforest of the Pacific…each morning, day, and night an act of intention and, in many ways a prayer. Crisp sunrises, afternoon thunderstorms, still sunsets, and brilliantly starry nights were our muse as we bore witness to the change of seasons. Woven into each fabric of this coat is the intention, observation, and emotion of this experience.

A photo of the interior of a Ginew work jacket, lined with Pendleton wool in the "We Walk Together" pattern.

Aman stands in a field of dry grass, wearing a Ginew x Pendleton work jacket.

When you put on the THUNDERBIRD COAT, you are wearing a coat built to express our Ojibwe & Oneida heritages and the experience of our journey from the Great Lakes to Portland, OR. Designed with the classic American silhouette of a lined ranch coat, yet taken steps beyond as we incorporate our tribal symbols, traditional textiles, way of life, and emotions into the coat.

A man adjusts a Ginew x Pendleton denim jacket.

A man stands in a deserted field wearing a Ginew x Pendleton denim jacket.

Notes on the lining

The coat includes the Ginew® “WE WALK TOGETHER” wool blanket lining – exclusively woven for Ginew® by PENDLETON®. It is customary in our communities to wrap a newly joined couple in a blanket to symbolize their union. The WE WALK TOGETHER blanket colors represent the sacred day (sunrise to sunset) and wampum belt (purples), teachings which impart values to guide us in our life together. The lodges are in the shape of traditional Ojibwe and Oneida dwellings. The crest fuses timeless symbols from each of our tribes, the dwelling (Ojibwe) and Skydome (Oneida). Together, the colors and symbols represent how we value our traditional beliefs in our home as we walk this journey of life together.

See it here: GINEW

Photos by Ginew & Rowdy Dugan

 

WE WALK TOGETHER by Ginew, Dyani White Hawk and Pendleton

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GINEW’s blanket

Native American-owned apparel company Ginew of Portland, Oregon, has released their WE WALK TOGETHER wool blanket.

A woman shows off the We Walk Together blanket at Fort Stevens beach.

The blanket represents a fusion of tribal cultures (Ojibwe, Oneida, and Mohican), and is the result of an exploration of design with artist DYANI WHITE HAWK. Each blanket is proudly woven in Oregon by Pendleton® Woolen Mills.

A woman shows off the We Walk Together blanket at Fort Stevens beach.

GINEW, The Company

GINEW Gih-noo) is the only Native American owned premium denim collection. Focusing on American-made materials, they incorporate elements of their Native American heritage (Ojibwe, Oneida, & Mohican) to express a contemporary Native voice through premium apparel and accessories. Ginew is Native-Americana, fusing Native American style and workwear.

According to Ginew,

It is customary in our communities to wrap a newly joined couple in a blanket to symbolize their union. The blanket colors represent the sacred day (sunrise & sunset) and wampum belt (purples), teachings which impart values to guide us in our life together. The lodges are in the shape of traditional Ojibwe and Oneida dwellings. The crest fuses timeless symbols from each of our tribes, the dwelling (Ojibwe) and Skydome (Oneida). Together, the colors and symbols represent how we value our traditional beliefs in our home as we walk this journey of life together.

A woman shows off the We Walk Together blanket at Fort Stevens beach.

The Artist, Dyani White Hawk

Dyani White Hawk is a mixed-media artist and curator working in Minneapolis, MN. White Hawk draws from her multi-cultural background and education to create abstract paintings and mixed media works that speak to her upbringing as a Lakota woman in an urban American landscape.

She talks about her background and design process:

I am a painter and mixed-media artist. I work predominantly in abstraction. My work combines influences, mediums and histories of modern abstract painting and Lakota abstract art forms. You can find more information on my website: www.dyaniwhitehawk.com

Erik, Amanda, and myself all met when we were at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was a brief, single dinner meeting, but the connection lasted. I was excited to hear from Erik on ways we could collaborate. He threw out a few different possibilities before this one came together. In a very collaborative process, we worked to achieve a design that spoke to each of their tribal backgrounds, their individuality, their partnership, and their vision for high quality, finely crafted, culturally rooted products.

I am grateful for the partnership and the opportunity provided through our work together. Moreover, I am most excited to be able to be a part of and support the dreams and visions for another Native entrepreneurial team.

A woman shows off the We Walk Together blanket at Fort Stevens beach, along with two dogs.

The WE WALK TOGETHER blanket is woven of pure virgin wool and cotton. Each wool blanket is 64” x 80”, unnapped, felt bound, and adorned with a custom suede patch. Available on ginewusa.com.

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