You'll love this bold new blanket by David Robert Boxley (Tsimshian)!

The highly anticipated result of Eighth Generation's 2017 Blanket Design Contest is here! David Robert Boxley's (Tsimshian) "Confluence" Wool Blanket is as powerful visually as it is in its message - check it out below! And yes, this is included in our Bigfoot Blowout Sale (ending Friday July 20th)!

Shop the "Confluence" Wool Blanket by David Robert Boxley (Tsimshian)!

This stunning design represents the powerful and inextricable connection between people and the world around us, and acts as a reminder of our responsibilities to care for it all. The Tsimshian people have believed since time immemorial that humans are not separate from the natural world, but merely a part of it. David says, "The salmon will only return if we are respectful and the earth will only allow us to stay if we live in balance with it. 'Ni'nii wila loo łagigyedm ada 'ni'nii sgüü dm waalm. (That is what the ancestors did and that is what we should do)."

Shop the "Confluence" Wool Blanket by David Robert Boxley (Tsimshian)!

David created the design after he was chosen as the winner of our 2017 Blanket Design Contest along with Diné artist Jared Yazzie, whose blanket is due for release later this year. He says of the collaboration, "I have always wanted to produce a wool blanket and I’m so excited about this. On top of that, partnering with Eighth Generation is an opportunity to show what can happen when we work together. Native people, though coming from many different nations, cultures and regions, have a common history, with common struggles. Eighth Generation is working hard to help make sure Native people are being represented the way we want to be. They provide a positive, uplifting and forward thinking approach so that we can convey our own stories to the world, with our own arts and voices."

Shop the "Confluence" Wool Blanket by David Robert Boxley (Tsimshian)!

David is from the village of Metlakatla, AK and grew up there and in Kingston, WA. He first began to learn how to carve from his father, renowned Tsimshian artist and culture bearer, David A. Boxley, at the age of six. After moving away for a period of time, he has returned to live in his village to help in the efforts to save his people's language, and is now the Co-chair of The Haayk Foundation, which works to preserve and revitalize Tsimshian language, history, and traditions. Louie, founder of Eighth Generation, says, "Working with people like David is exciting because we like the idea of aligning with his cultural knowledge and commitment to community as much as we like making things with his beautiful art." 

In April, a film crew documented Louie's journey to David's hometown to put on one last custom shoe workshop that acts as an homage to the community work that built the foundation of what Eighth Generation is today. Get a glimpse in the trailer below, and start brainstorming titles...we have an upcoming contest to name the film where you'll have the chance to win!