Shark Button Robe

This hand-sewn button robe by Haida fashion designer Dorothy Grant is a garment worn by Haida people for important public and family events. Made of wool, the robe features a stylized shark, also known as a dogfish, in black appliqué on a red background. The Haida shark motif is an important crest of the Yahguulanaas clan, of which Grant is a member.

When Grant began making robes in the 1980s, young Haida artists were working to revitalize ancient artforms, such as weaving, carving and painting, that their ancestors had mastered. Oppression of Indigenous people under the Potlatch Ban (1884-1951), the Canadian prohibition of Indigenous traditions, led to the erosion of traditional artistic practices. To Grant, button blankets represent survival. She says, “I still marvel at this medium, how our Ancestors took materials that were new to them at the time and made them into ceremonial garments, canvasses that display family history.”