NAAXEIN • NAAXIIN • GWISHALAAYT • CHILKAT WEAVING

Ts’áak’ Naaxiin (Eagle Robe)

by Evelyn Vanderhoop (Haida), 1997-99
Loan Courtesy Nancy Kovalik LC.483

Evelyn Vanderhoop wearing the Raven’s Tail Robe by her mother, Delores Churchill.

“The Eagle Robe was my first full sized naaxiin robe commission. I was challenged by the beauty and fineness of the original robe that was in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.  Bill Holm helped by scanning and calculating the correct size for a print of the image. This served as my ‘pattern board’….I was able to travel to New York to study the original Eagle Robe. I consider this robe one of my teachers. The genius of how the design was laid out continually amazes me. During the year of weaving this magnificent Eagle, I feel very sure I had spirit helpers. I never felt alone, and soon after I completed the Eagle’s eyes, I felt its constant encouragement.” –Evelyn Vanderhoop