Pendleton earned its first loyal following among Indigenous communities—a fact that sets it apart from many other modern-day textile businesses.
Pendleton and Indigenous Communities
The relationship between the Pendleton company—specifically the Bishop family—and Native American communities began shortly after the business set up shop. At this time, trading posts dotted the American West, offering an opportunity for tribes to exchange their animal hides, textiles, and other handicrafts for food, living essentials, and the aforementioned trade blankets. Native Americans would wear Pendleton textiles to keep warm during cold nights, but the designs also served as signifiers of status. Pendleton blankets quickly became sought-after items for trading—due largely to their high-quality construction—and have since maintained their covetable role among Indigenous peoples as heirlooms.
But it wasn’t a one-way conversation: The company enlisted people such as Joe Rawnsley, a British textile designer, to create work that would speak to this audience. Task in hand, he spent six months living in the Southwest in the early 1900s, specifically with the Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni people. During this time, he worked to understand and appreciate patterns and colors he saw adorning homes and clothing, eventually translating them into blanket designs. This immersion resulted in two iconic editions: the Chief Joseph and Harding blankets. Building on the brand’s early connection with Indigenous communities, the Pendleton Legendary Blanket Collection was introduced in 1976 to help tell Native American stories and celebrate symbols important to these communities with new designs.
The brand has not come through the years without controversy. In 2013, Pendleton settled a claim that they violated the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which ensures non-Natives can’t sell goods labeled with tribal names or market them as Native American–made. Specifically, this centered around the Sioux Star blanket, which was renamed the Plains Star blanket. In addition, Pendleton donated $41,000 to the Red Cloud Indian Heritage Center and did a bit of website redesigning to remove the Native American category and add a new section dedicated to designs made by Native American artists.
Pendleton National Park Blankets
One of the brand’s most successful collections has been the ongoing National Park series. First launched in 1916 with the Glacier National Park Blanket, each one of the 16 subsequent designs highlights one of the country’s great parks. Each edition has a color scheme and design elements that speak to unique aspects of each natural space. For example, the Zion National Park blanket, released in 2020, is made up of various stripes representing the rusty rock formations and the bright blue afternoon sky. Another favorite is the White Sands National Park blanket, which is made of 100% pure virgin wool and a blue-and-brown hued design inspired by the change in light as day heads into twilight over the sand and flora.
