Button Blanket
Item number 2922/5 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.
Item number 2922/5 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.
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Button blanket of dark brown velvet with red cotton borders, multiple seams. A thunderbird motif is appliquéd in red fabric in the centre of the blanket, and floral and other motifs are applied around the border with buttons, pieces of abalone shell, beads, and commercially produced “rickrack” trim. Lines of glass beads go through the red portion and the brown. The backing is a patterned cotton fabric. Hand written "Tonto" in black marker on the red border; on the opposite side of the border a Griffin patch has been sewn on. A plastic tag with the name “STANLEY” has been adhered to the bottom corner.
Button blankets are a form of ceremonial regalia usually made with European-manufactured wool Melton cloth, which became widely used by coastal women by the latter decades of the 19th century. Its multiple seams indicate that it was repurposed from a dress.
For Mabel Stanley, a high-ranking Kwakwaka’wakw woman (1901 - 1979) born in Cape Mudge, this button robe – handed down from her parents Chief Joseph and Lucy Johnson – was a marker of her identity and her connection to her family’s clan origins, ancestral territories, and inherited rights. The blanket was signed "Tonto" in pen on the lapel by Jay Silverheels when he was shown around Vancouver by Mabel Stanley. Silverheels was well-known at the time for playing a character named "Tonto" on the television series "The Lone Ranger".
This data has been provided to the RRN by the MOA: University of British Columbia. We've used it to provide the information on the Data tab.
Button blanket of dark brown velvet with red cotton borders, multiple seams. A thunderbird motif is appliquéd in red fabric in the centre of the blanket, and floral and other motifs are applied around the border with buttons, pieces of abalone shell, beads, and commercially produced “rickrack” trim. Lines of glass beads go through the red portion and the brown. The backing is a patterned cotton fabric. Hand written "Tonto" in black marker on the red border; on the opposite side of the border a Griffin patch has been sewn on. A plastic tag with the name “STANLEY” has been adhered to the bottom corner.
Button blankets are a form of ceremonial regalia usually made with European-manufactured wool Melton cloth, which became widely used by coastal women by the latter decades of the 19th century. Its multiple seams indicate that it was repurposed from a dress.
For Mabel Stanley, a high-ranking Kwakwaka’wakw woman (1901 - 1979) born in Cape Mudge, this button robe – handed down from her parents Chief Joseph and Lucy Johnson – was a marker of her identity and her connection to her family’s clan origins, ancestral territories, and inherited rights. The blanket was signed "Tonto" in pen on the lapel by Jay Silverheels when he was shown around Vancouver by Mabel Stanley. Silverheels was well-known at the time for playing a character named "Tonto" on the television series "The Lone Ranger".
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