About Eighth Generation

Eighth Generation is a Seattle-based small business, founded when Louie Gong (Nooksack) began customizing shoes with cultural art. In seven years, Eighth Generation has grown into a brand recognized for products that showcase art created by "Inspired Natives." Now we’re about to launch our first line of beautiful, high quality, 100% wool blankets designed by Native artists. We’re asking for your support as we move into this exciting and important new phase in our company’s development.

With your support, Eighth Generation will become the gold standard for Native wool blankets!

The wool blanket holds a prominent place in Native communities, often given as gifts or awarded in ceremonies to honor individuals. Historically, though, the only producers of wool blankets are non-Native companies who have frequently chosen to appropriate cultural art instead of collaborating with cultural artists. It’s time to change that. We’re about to become the first ever Native-owned company to offer wool blankets.

When you contribute to this campaign, your dollars will:

• Help us compete with more established businesses by adding our first full time staffer - a marketing and sales specialist - to the Eighth Generation team;
  
• Recoup a portion of the cost of our initial collaborative blanket with Evergreen State College's Longhouse, which was covered by Eighth Generation.  The blanket honoring the Longhouse's 20th year of service to the community will be used for giveaways and fundraising by the Longhouse;
  
• Set a precedent for Native-owned companies to be the leading producers of art featuring Native designs;
  
• Support the continuation of traditional Native arts and practices;
  
• Support the development of business experience within tribal communities.
  

Thank you for your consideration. Every dollar donated will help establish Eighth Generation as a Native-owned, community-engaged source for wool blankets.

For your generous contribution, you’ll receive:

$10: Digital thank-you note with a virtual tour of the Eighth Generation studio

$25: Personalized thank-you card with a design by Louie Gong or one of our Inspired Natives artists

$50: Hardwood paddle pendant, hand-painted and laser-etched. Signed with a Thank You note on the reverse side.  Approximately 4" x 5".

$100: Eighth Generation t-shirt, plus a limited edition variety pack of shoe art stickers

$125: Eighth Generation's "Transformation" Throw Blanket by Michelle Lowden (Acoma Pueblo)

$200: Limited edition "Hummingbird Moon" serigraph art print (15" x 20"), signed and numbered by artist Louie Gong

$350: Salish pattern blanket (Only 50 available in a box signed to your specifications). We will get in touch with you via email at the end of the campaign.

$500: Evergreen State College Longhouse blanket with signed box (only 50 available!)

• $1000: One-hour Skype presentation with Louie Gong at the Eighth Generation studio for you and a small group
  
• $5000: Two-hour studio visit or Skype-based consultation for up-and-coming artists or other interested parties (for up to 25 people)

Thank you for your consideration. Every dollar will help establish Eighth Generation as a Native-owned, community-engaged source for wool blankets.

The Economic & Community Impact of Supporting Native-Owned Companies

When you support Native-owned companies, your purchase represents:

• More dollars in the pot of finite consumer resources accessible to Native artists -- increased access to the consumer market and more "shelf space" for Native artists;
  
• More circulation of opportunities and resources within tribal communities;
  
• Breaking the pattern of cultural appropriation;
  
• Increasing the business capacity and recognition for Native-owned companies;
  
• Support for Native ownership of Native stories and cultural capital.
  

These blankets symbolize a major step in reclaiming Native art for Native artists, and you can help simply by donating and sharing this link.

At Eighth Generation, our community service work has supported communities far and wide, with collaborative projects such as:

• Custom mural for the Port Gamble S’Klallam skate park
  
• Creating the new Chief Seattle Club logo
  
• Custom mural in the Labateyah Youth Home
  
• Designing the Huy logo
  
• Seattle Indian Health Board Indigenous Cultures Day
  
• Workshops in tribal communities throughout the country
  

We’ve built our company through hard work and strong relationships with community members — and now we need your support to write the next chapter in our company’s story.

The Challenges of Consumer Education

Because there has never been a Native-owned, community-engaged option for wool blankets -- and many people may have never imagined that this was possible -- it may be hard to understand the true economic and social impact of this project. And helping people understand may challenge their beliefs and commonly accepted ideas about business. 

Thus, the burden of consumer education lies with us. We accept this responsibility, and plan to meet it through the following:

• Ongoing development of the Inspired Natives Project, a capacity-building initiative anchored in the mantra "Inspired Natives, not Native-inspired"
  
• Create a video highlighting the economic impact of cultural appropriation
  

Many of the existing, entrenched options for consuming Native arts and culture do not support the sustained health and wellness of the Native community. While we advance our mission to educate the public on being responsible consumers of Native arts and culture, you can help just by paying attention and making ethical, informed choices about the companies your dollars support.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you can’t donate, there are other ways you can help us reach our goal:

• Spread the word! Share this page on social media to get the word out (use the Indiegogo share tools).
  
• Check out our website at eighthgeneration.com.
  
• When purchasing products featuring Native art, make sure they’re made by Native artists – not imitators. Remember to support Inspired Natives, not Native-inspired!