New for 2024

Pendleton is proud to unveil three new blankets for the American Indian College Fund this year. The designs were chosen from many beautiful entries submitted by College Fund Scholars. Sales of this blanket help support the College Fund in its mission to invest in Native students and tribal college education to transform lives and communities.

This traditional robe-size blanket was designed for the College Fund by Trey Blackhawk.

Drum Keepers

The call of the singers, the beat of the drum helped designer Trey Blackhawk (Winnebago), a graduate of Little Priest Tribal College, understand his history and ancestors. The drum’s materials were once living: a buffalo or moose hide and a cedar tree were sacrificed to bring people together to heal, dance, and sing. The drum and sticks are framed by traditional applique patterns, a tribute to the mothers who hold the world together. Bands of color represent seasons of life and all its milestones.

Designer Trey Blackhawk (Winnebago) is a graduate of Nebraska’s Little Priest Tribal College with a degree in Liberal Arts, returning to school as an Applied Sciences major. He is influenced by the artwork he’s seen at powwows, drumming and singing, and the beading, sewing and dancing of his family. When he submitted his design, Trey had a powerful story to tell. We hope you enjoy it.

In Trey’s Words

I am from the Winnebago Tribe located in Nebraska. I am first and foremost a farmer. I do a little graphic design for our flyers, but I admire the design work of my auntie Christina Parker. She also beads, sews and dances. Her work helped me with the appliqué part of my design. 

The role of art in my life comes along with my farming and forestry, how I work the land and come up with designs to incorporate more plants and trees. I am a huge nature guy and pay attention to the different way a plant grows and how it moves in the wind. I graduated from Little Priest Tribal College with my AA in Liberal Arts this spring with plans on attending the University of Nebraska’s Applied Sciences program. My course of studies gives me a broad overview of many things, but more specifically to heal the land we reside on, while also caring for animals and growing food! 

This design grew out of a time when I found myself lost as a young indigenous boy, who found his way when he heard the roars from the singers and the beat of the drum. Growing up, I never truly acknowledged my identity as an indigenous person. I never had that knowledge of where my ancestors came from. A lot of teachings were lost from generation to generation within my family and I was a product of that.

What does it truly mean to be Ho-chunk? How does one represent his or her tribe? These were questions I asked myself as I was becoming a young man. When I was fifteen, I was asked to sing around the drum at a local powwow. As time went on, I stayed around the drum. In my tribe, only a handful of singers know the songs. I want to make sure these songs we sing are carried on from generation to generation, to teach the younger ones about the meaning behind them.

All ceremonies and powwows require a drum before anything can take place. The materials used to make that drum were once living beings, a buffalo or moose to make the hide, and a cedar tree to make the rim of the drum. These two things are sacrificed to bring people together, to heal, dance, sing and bring happiness. My blanket design is a dedication to drum keepers and singers within their tribe.

As you can see in the photo above, the weaving technique for this blanket has given it a dramatically different back and front (or as we call it, the face and reverse). Which do you like more?

For more information: Drum Keepers

Tribal College Blanket Design Contest and The College Fund

Drum Keepers is a winner of the Tribal College Blanket Design contest, which seeks to elevate the voices, work, and representation of tribal college and university (TCU) students while providing TCU students with additional scholarship opportunities. Pendleton has been supporting the work of the College Fund through the sale of special blankets since 1995, and has provided over $2.6 million in scholarship support for American Indian and Alaska Native students attending Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). Over the years, blankets have been designed by various designers and guest artists, including Larry Ahvakana, Preston Singletary, Mary Beth Jiron, Tracie Jackson, and many more.

The American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest nonprofit supporting Native higher education for 33 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer". Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund has provided more than $345 million in scholarships, program, community, and tribal college support. The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support programs at the nation’s 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.

Pendleton’s Philanthropic Partners

We work with: 

• The American Indian College Fund: Supporting education
• Northwest Native American Center of Excellence (NNACOE): at Oregon Health & Science University
• Center of Southwest Studies: Preserving Native American arts and funding Native American art education
• Native American Rehabilitation Association (NARA): Culturally informed Health care for Native women
• DigDeep: Supporting the Navajo Water Project
• National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC): Dedicated to restoring sovereignty and safeguarding Native women and children
• Missing and Murdered Dine Relatives (MMDR): Protecting generations and raising awareness