The Chilkat Print
The Chilkat Print is an intergenerational collaboration between renowned Coast Salish artist Wade Baker and Tlingit Chilkat Blanket Master Weaver Mary Ebbetts Hunt (Anislaga, Ansnaq; 1823-1919) whom Wade is a direct descendant of.
Wade Baker is Squamish Nation, Tlingit, Musqueam, Kwakwaka’wakw and Haida. Wade is Eagle, Wolf and Raven Clan on his late mother’s side, Chief Emily Baker Tlakwagilogwa, and is a direct descendant of Chief Capilano on his late father’s side, Chief Dan Baker. Wade is a master carver, public artist, storyteller and oral historian.
Anislaga was a Tlingit noblewoman and master weaver of the Taantakwáan Raven Clan. Daughter of Tlingit Chief Tongas and granddaughter of Haida Chief Shakes, Anislaga was a highly revered matriarch and has many well-known descendants. Anislaga married Robert Hunt, a Hudson Bay Fur Trader in the mid 1800’s.
Anislaga wove 12 Chilkat Blankets for her children and family. The original Chilkat blankets were made from mountain goat wool and cedar with natural dyes that made brilliant pigmented hues that have lasted centuries. Many of these blankets were seized during the Pot Lach Bans and were taken forcefully and sold to museums and private collectors around the world.
The design from this collection was re-rendered by Wade Baker as a means to retrace his roots and reclaim his heritage, partnering with Chloë Angus Design to bring his ancestor's weavings to fashion and design.
Wade is excited to present his great-great-great-great grandmother’s Chilkat Blanket Design in a contemporary light and for those to wear it to feel the prosperity and wealth inherent in his ancestor's work.