GUEST: This is a blanket that I got from my grandmother, Tlingit Native, which is Alaska Native.

Each time I would visit her, she would give me pieces, and this is one of my treasures.

The pattern is of an eagle.

We're divided into two moieties, the eagle and the raven.

It's a matriarchal society, so it follows the mom.

Um, so she's a eagle, my father's an eagle, and I'm a raven.

She told me at the time that the buttons were over 100 years old.

And I've had this for over 30 years now.

APPRAISER: Your society, the Tlingit... Guest: Yes.

APPRAISER: ...it ranges all the way from Alaska to British Columbia in Canada.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: So it's a multinational group.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: The buttons are over 100 years old.

The medium-sized buttons, all the way around, that outline everything, those are handmade mother-of-pearl buttons.

GUEST: Mother-of-pearl.

APPRAISER: Yes.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Some of those larger ones are not so old.

These fabrics are 100% wool.

Generally it came from Belgium or Northern Scotland.

It's not inexpensive.

Can run hundreds of dollars a yard very easily.

Looking at the piece itself and how it's constructed, I would expect that it's somewhere between 50 and 70 years old.

Who was this made for?

GUEST: My cousins wore them for dances, and I'm not exactly who it was made for, but it's a child-size blanket.

The adult size were a lot larger and cloaked over.

We got together for dances for a potlatch, which is, the community of Natives would come together from all parts of Southeast Alaska.

They would bring food, and they would bring carvings and do some trading.

And it was several days long.

And it was a time where our families who moved away from us could gather together and be with each other.

APPRAISER: I know this is not something you would ever sell.

This is part of your family and your heritage, and it will continue to be that way.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: And, so, I'll give an insurance value, and I think it's going to be $1,800 to $2,200.

GUEST: Oh!

APPRAISER: Somewhere in that range, uh... GUEST: Oh, fabulous.

APPRAISER: ...to insure it, to protect it.

GUEST: I'm very proud of it.

APPRAISER: Well, you should be.

GUEST: (laughs) Yes.

Thank you so much.

APPRAISER: Thank you.