Pendleton child-size blankets
…can help you celebrate a baby born during the eclipse year, or just wrap your little star watcher in something wonderful. We weave blankets that tell stories, and we want those stories to be told for generations. A Pendleton child’s blanket will warm your children, and their children, and the children who come after—and will definitely be around for the next full solar eclipse in April of 2024!
Star Guardian
Crossed arrows stand for brotherhood and the setting aside of conflicts. A peaceful evening has come to the prairie. It is time to light the fires and draw together in the warmth of the fire circle. As logs crackle and flames flicker, stories rise on the night air. Stories of bravery and victory in battle. Stories of stealth and bounty in the hunt. Stories of tricksters and their clever magic. As they share their legends, the People are safe and warm in their tepees. Above it all shines Bear, the great guardian of the night skies.
Chief’s Road
Chippewa-Cree artist Jesse Henderson designed this blanket of the Milky Way, or “Chief’s Road,” exclusively for Pendleton. The Big Dipper and North Star shine brightly. Bear and moose tracks border the sky. Below, rows of lodges represent the children of the Creator and Mother Earth.
Sons of the Sky, Daughters of the Earth
These designs were created in partnership with Virginia Stroud, an acclaimed contemporary Native American artist. Every purchase helps support the honorable mission of the American Indian College Fund, a nonprofit organization that helps fund scholarships for Native American students and tribal colleges. Both designs honor a significant Plains indian tradition: Parents place a newborn child’s umbilicus inside a turtle of lizard-shaped amulet that embodies the turtle’s hard shell or the lizard’s quick movement. This guards the child’s spirit to ensure a long, protected life.
The central turtle amulet is surrounded by celebratory stars and rainbows in honor of new birth.
Daughters of the Earth
Water lilies and dragonflies surround a lizard amulet on a soothing rainbow that evokes a marsh sunset.
Raven Sunburst
According to a Steilacoom legend, in the beginning, Grey Eagle kept the sun, moon, stars, fresh water and fire hidden from the people. Then Raven fell in love with Grey Eagle’s beautiful daughter. To please her, he turned himself into a snow-white bird, so she invited him into her father’s lodge. When Raven saw the sun and moon, he stole them and escaped through a smoke hole in the house. Outside, he hung the sun in the sky and flew away. At night, he put up the moon for light and kept on flying, carrying with him a stick of fire. Soon the smoke from the fire drifted over his back, turning his white feathers black.
Wild Horses
Thundering hooves raise clouds of dust as wild mustangs gallop across the valley floor. These graceful creatures epitomize the free spirit of the West, standing as symbols of pride and tradition for many Native Americans. As the sun sets, stars shine against the vivid colors of the evening sky. This design celebrates independence, strength and mobility, all traits of the wild horse.
And so many more
We have so many choices for your young ones. You can see them all here: Child-sized Pendleton blankets These blankets are 32” x 44”, perfect for a crib or a snuggle. And they are 100% made in the USA.
Night falls as dancers gather on the Square Ground for the Stomp Dance, performed by many tribes: Caddo, Seneca, Muskogee, Cherokee, Shawnee, Seminole and more. Against the dark blue of the night sky, the bright flames of the ceremonial fire rise. Mother Fire is considered a sacred being who watches over the dancers and receives their songs and prayers. The Chief calls upon his medicine man and speaker to help him lead this sacred gathering. Men take their places in arbors built facing each of the Four Directions. With traditional and treasured turtle-shell rattles fastened to their legs, dancers begin their shuffle and stomp. Strong medicine and the repetitive steps of the Stomp Dance lead them to an inspirited, meditative state. The night echoes with the haunting call and response of their special songs. The Stomp Dance lasts until morning arrives to fill the sky with colors of Dawn.
This design was created in partnership with Muscogee Creek artist Starr Hardridge, and is part of our Legendary Collection. This design illustrates the relationship between humankind, Mother Nature and the creator of the universe, whose medicine is love. It acknowledges our place between the sun and the full moon. Full Moon Lodge is part of our Legendary Collection, which honors stories and symbols of Native American cultures.
This is a vintage design from 1923, the heyday of trade blanket production. Dazzling colors and geometric designs tell a story. Arrows symbolize the paths of life and power. Stars centered in squares echo the bright Morning Star, a spirit honored by many pueblo dwellers. This blanket is part of our Heritage Collection.
High atop the Big Horn Range in Wyoming sits one of the best-known medicine wheels or sacred hoops. This spoked circle of stones was created by Plains Indians between 300 and 800 years ago. Astronomers have noted that during the summer solstice, the spokes of the wheel point to the rising and setting of the sun, and four bright stars, a discovery celebrated by astronomers.
The Northern Lights are as mysterious as they are glorious. Native legends offer intriguing explanations for these shining bands of transparent color that dance across the night skies. To the Fox tribe of Wisconsin, the lights were an omen of war, spirits of enemies rising up to do battle again. To their neighbors, the Menominee tribe, the lights belonged to torches carried by the manabai’wok, giant spirits of hunters and fishermen that were out spearing fish. Northern lights are most visible at midnight in the extreme north, and occasionally seen as far south as America’s Gulf Coast.
The Gatekeeper is an original Pendleton design from 1935. This USA-made wool blanket is a beautiful example of a Center Point pattern, which contains a primary design element that falls within a band through the center of the blanket. The eight-point star is a common motif in Sioux culture and often represents the morning star, signifying a new beginning with the break of dawn. As gatekeeper of the morning, it shows the way to the light and knowledge of the day.
Star of the sea, or Stella Maris, represents the guiding presence of the North Star. As a ‘pole star,’ it shines an abiding light by which sailors have navigated for as long as man has traveled the sea. The graduated palette of indigo, lapis, turquoise and ivory unfolds in a dynamic chevron pattern that evokes the emanation of starlight in the night sky, recalling the traditional craft of Star Quilts. Designer Alyssa Pheobus Mumtaz is an American artist known for her multimedia drawing practice, inspired by iconography of traditional textiles. Her work is exhibited worldwide and recognized by numerous fellowships and grants.
This dynamic blanket celebrates the pioneering spirit of our founder, weaver Thomas Kay, who journeyed to America from England, arriving in Oregon in 1863. Its design was inspired by a blanket discovered in a 19th-century European mill which included the designer’s notes and calculations handwritten neatly along the sides. The pattern highlights the universal appeal of geometric shapes and lines. The hooked patterns inside the large diamonds are common symbols of luck and prosperity. Its quality and beauty is a tribute to the generations of weavers that have continued Thomas Kay’s legacy of quality and excellence.
are fantastic for marking off your viewing spot, too.
