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Lovebirds Cuff

In the 18th century when the Native Cultures of the Northwest Coast were flourishing and the wealth of the fur trade was flowing throughout the world, a custom was born. When a man was mature and wealthy enough to seek a wife he looked outside his clan, and had to receive permission of the woman’s uncle before he could court her. He announced his suit by giving her a gift.

Among the Tlingit and Haida peoples there are only two moieties, the Ravens and the Eagles. The gift of choice was a silver or gold bracelet, hand-carved with the symbol of both moieties, the Eagle and the Raven, hence Lovebirds.
-Owen & Janet Walker