DepartmentTextiles-United States & Canada
Raven Collar or Button Robe Collar
NameCollar
CultureTlingit/Tsimshian/Haida
Date2018
(not assigned)Ketchikan, ALASKA, United States, North America
MediumCotton, ermine pelts, abalone buttons, beads, felt, white plastic buttons, dentalium shells
Dimensions27 15/16 × 14 15/16 × 13/16 in. (71 × 38 × 2 cm)
Credit LineMuseum of International Folk Art, IFAF Collection, FA.2025.8.1
Object numberFA.2025.8.1
ProvenanceArtist consigned to Alaska Native Medical Center Craft Shop
Curatorial field purchase
DescriptionBlack felt collar with two white ermine hides hanging from each shoulder, a red raven's face is the central design with white buttons around it. Blue border trim around.Janice Jackson is an accomplished basket and Ravenstail weaver and beadworker, having studied with Delores Churchill and especially regalia maker Esther Littlefield, both artists recipients of a National Heritage Fellowship. She also creates contemporary clothing inspired by traditional regalia and using Northwest Coast formline design. In this button robe collar, for example, she uses sewing and button design skills for a contemporary adaptation on button blankets or other Tlingit regalia pieces. Dance collars have become popular because they are lighter and easier to wear than larger robes or vests. Jackson’s button robe collars also reference beaded dance collars, which were developed by Tlingit women in the 19th century, likely modeled after men’s wooden neck armor with a hide “bib” translated into textile and beadwork. This button robe collar portrays a raven, which is the clan Jackson is from.
Janice Jackson grew up outside of her community because her parents had been sent to boarding school, but she returned to Juneau, Alaska, with her family when she was 11 years old and began to learn about her Tlingit culture. Jackson’s mother, Gerry Brown, used to create graduation stoles, which prompted Jackson to make collars.
