Clipping a little girl’s fingernails
To ensure a young girl to become a good weaver, in the olden days, her fingernails were clipped and woven into the Chilkat robes. The late master Chilkat weaver Jennie Thlunaut’s daughter, Agnes Bellinger called this “…kind of like a brainwashing…” This method was to encourage a straight and narrow path for the girl to grow up to be a strong, talented woman of good character. Agnes said “You can use this method for anything you want your child to become…”