YEIL KOOWÚ • QWĒGAL GIA’T • RAVEN’S TAIL WEAVING

Ghooxh X’us.eetí X’oow (Wolf Tracks Blanket)

by Clarissa Rizal (Tlingit), 1998-99. Yanyeidí clan, Taku

Left: The original “Diamonds” robe, housed in the British Museum, London.

Clarissa Hudson Rizal (1956-2020) designed and wove the robe, inspired by an original collected by Captain James Cook in 1778—the only surviving raven’s tail robe patterned with rows of “diamonds” set on a bias. The contemporary version of this robe by Clarissa Rizal was brought out by the Yanyeidí (Wolf) clan of the Taku Tlingit, who frequently use it for ceremonies. They call it “Wolf Tracks Blanket,” likening the diamonds as wolf paw prints.