Elk NetworkHunters Help Archeologist Weave Blanket Made of 17,000 Turkey Feathers

General | April 3, 2020

Imagine trying to figure out how to weave a blanket out of turkey feathers? But first, imagine trying to find enough turkey pelts to gather the 17,000 feathers needed to do so?

That’s the issue that faced Mary Weahkee, an archeologist and anthropologist with the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs who is also a descendant of Comanche and Santa Clara tribes.

She reached out to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. One staffer, a hunter, gave her the past turkey pelts he harvested and reached out to other hunters who answered the call. In all, Weahkee received pelts from 68 turkeys to meticulously create a blanket measuring two feet by three feet.

“I looked at how the ancestors were creative and patient,” Weahkee told New Mexico Wildlife. “It’s a labor of love.”

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(Photo source: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish)