Pendleton Woolen Mills opened in 1896 and was the first mill started specifically to make Indian trade blankets. Today the Pendleton brand is known for quality women’s and men’s clothing, home furnishings and blankets. They sell their products in company-owned stores and through high-end retailers in the U.S. and other countries. Blankets originally made for the “Indian Trade” have become “Native American Inspired.”
Blankets have always been integral to Native-American life. They wore blankets woven from plant fiber, animal hides and fur and later wool and cotton. Native Americans traded blankets for goods among themselves. When Europeans arrived and began slaughtering buffaloes and pushing the native people from their land, Native Americans were forced to rely on commercially made blankets. Trading beaver pelts for blankets became regular commerce with the Europeans.
By the late nineteenth century, most Native Americans lived on reservations. American mills found them a lucrative market and became the best customers for “Indian blankets.” Pendleton Woolen Mills did its research on Native American preferences and became the leader in designing blankets. “Indian blankets” were neither designed nor made by Native Americans, but the name worked for marketing their products to the general population. Next came saddle blankets for cowboys, then sweaters, shirts and general apparel. Pendleton Woolen Mills is no longer based in Pendleton, Oregon. Its headquarters are in Portland.
A southern-California singing group formed in 1960 called themselves “The Pendletones,” after their favorite wool shirts. They later found fame as the Beach Boys.
A friend used to work for the Nez Perce over in Lapwai ID and I’d ride over for a visit periodically. If I had my Pendleton jacket on when we were on the rez I’d always get a lot of appreciative nods and comments from many of the locals, even a couple of offers to buy it right off my back.