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Button Blanket

This short impressionist documentary looks at the creation of a Button Blanket by integrating the performance of a traditional dance with the art of the West Coast Heiltsuk Nation. <
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This short impressionist documentary looks at the creation of a Button Blanket by integrating the performance of a traditional dance with the art of the West Coast Heiltsuk Nation.

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Indigenous Peoples in Canada (First Nations and Métis) Dance All subjects
Indigenous Cinema
  • writer
    Zoe L. Hopkins
  • director
    Zoe L. Hopkins
  • cinematographer
    Helen Haig-Brown
  • editor
    Eliot Piltz
  • digital compositor
    Eliot Piltz
  • creator
    Dora Hopkins
  • location sound recordist
    Don Howell
  • sound design
    Gael MacLean
  • sound supervision
    Gael MacLean
  • music composer
    David Gladstone
  • music performer
    Gary Neasloss
    John Humchitt
    Dave Green
  • dancer
    Urban Heiltsuk Dancers
  • re-recording engineer
    Doug Paterson
  • audio post
    Rukkus House
  • post-production services
    Hand Cut Films
    Finale Editworks
  • production coordinator
    Teri Snelgrove
  • technical coordinator
    Wes Machnikowski
  • production supervisor
    Kathryn Lynch
    Scott Collins
  • program administrator
    Bruce Hagerman
    Cyndi Forcand
  • marketing manager
    Leslie Stafford
    Kay Leung
  • series producer
    Vanessa Loewen
    Joe MacDonald
  • series executive producer
    Derek Mazur
    Peter Strutt
  • producer
    Selwyn Jacob
  • executive producer
    Tracey Friesen

Education

Ages 11 to 17
School subjects
History and Citizenship Education - Culture and Currents of Thought (1500-present) Indigenous Studies - Arts Indigenous Studies - Identity/Society Indigenous Studies - Issues and Contemporary Challenges
Haida women made button blankets, ceremonial robes that were worn to signify power, hereditary rights, and duties. These blankets were decorated with appliqués of the family clan and crest designs and embellished with pearl buttons. Compare and contrast the significance of blanket buttons and totem poles. Discuss how these blankets maintain the history of the Haida and how the clan markings could be used to trace one’s family tree.

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Button Blanket
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