Ceremonial Robes and Regalia

The Raven's Tail weaving is beginning to dance again! Existing only in remote corners of Museums around the world, this textile weaving was known as "Northern Geometric Weaving" not only was it found in the territory of the Tlingit, but only in the northern regions of these peoples... It was probably not woven on this coast since the 1600's or 1700's. There are drawings by various explorers showing these robes, and several descriptions of both Men and Women, wearing "tasseled sashes of a very finely woven wool..."

Read about the Earthquake Robe (pictured right) in the Sitka Weekend.

The regalia woven in the Chilkat style weaving is still practiced by a dedicated few, while the Raven's Tail which predated the Chilkat weaving was inactive for many generations of weavers. In 1989 Cheryl Samuel, after dedicating several years of her life to researching this ancient, mostly lost art, began teaching Raven's Tail classes across the region of Southeast Alaska, where these robes were originally woven. Cheryl returned the weaving of our Grandmothers to us. I attended a couple of Cheryl's classes, and am forever grateful for the gifts and knowledge she shared. She also gave it the name "Raven's Tail" perhaps in recognition of the long dark tassels that drape the dancer in movement. It certainly is a more artistic name than "Northern Geometric." It may one day have a Tlingit name again, to avoid controversy of ownership that goes with crest references such as Wolf, Raven, etc., but until that time I use the name Raven's Tail in light of the original inspiration.
Raven's Tail weaving describes the traditional technique I use to create these pieces. It is not done on a loom, there is no tension or weight on the warps. (the wool that hangs down) It is all done with 2 and 3 strand twinning, common in basketry. I weave from left to right with a twist between every two warp. On a robe it takes me on the average 1 hour per row. The robes take from 600 hours to 2000... depending on design and size of weaving.

There are only a few old Raven's Tail robes in museums andvery few new ones being woven. The robes I weave tell stories just as the totems. The robe holds symbols that tell a story. Some of the other woven regalia are: Waist Robes (skirt) worn around the waist trimmed with deer toes for sound. Dance Bags worn over the shoulder, hanging at the hip. The bags are many times worn over both hips. Leggings for your lower leg, also trimmed with deer toes for additional sound. I weave a few contemporary pieces of regalia, and see other more modern weavings worn by contemporary natives. I like the definition of Contemporary = Alive... Raven's tail is by far the most popular medium I weave in for the Museums and Public Forum, because of it's unique journey . I have weavings in Museums, and Educational facilities around the country and, most exciting for me, here in Alaska.

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This site was created to share information about Alaskan Native arts and artists, Alaskan Native basketry and basketweaving, Ravenstail weaving, Northwest Coast spruce root baskets, Northwest Coast cedar bark baskets, pine needle basketry, American Indian crafts, and the work of Tlingit Indian artist Teri Rofkar from Southeast Alaska. Please feel free to print out any of the information on this web site for your personal use. We welcome links to Teri's web site.

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