Deena Cloutier and the Star Blanket Jacket: Which One of My Ancestors Gave Me the Confidence?

By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – When Deena Cloutier created the first jacket in what would become her Protection Collection, she wasn’t trying to launch a fashion brand. She was searching for healing.

Today, the Indigenous artisan is recognized throughout Alberta for her handcrafted Star Blanket Jackets, each one individually sewn and inspired by culture, family, and belonging. But the collection began after a life-changing car accident that forced Cloutier to rebuild her life one stitch at a time.

In 2023, Cloutier was a successful lash artist and a postpartum mother of three when her family’s vehicle was rear-ended. Her youngest child was only 11 days old. “It all started after a car accident in 2023,” Cloutier said. “I had an 11-day-old baby, and we were rear-ended. Our car was written off.”

Deena Cloutier creating one of her signature Star Blankets, the foundation of her Protection Collection.

Unable to return to work, Cloutier spent the next two years travelling throughout Alberta and British Columbia for specialists and rehabilitation. Along with mobility challenges, she suffered a traumatic brain injury, amnesia and ocular nerve damage that affected her vision and coordination.

“About a year later is when I realized that my injuries were a lot worse than I ever thought they were because I had a brain injury,” she said.

Despite attending physiotherapy, massage therapy and other treatments several days each week, she felt something was missing. “I wasn’t able to heal properly just through physio, massage, and everything that was the resources the doctors gave me,” she said.

After additional testing, she learned she had amnesia. “It was more than just bodily injury,” Cloutier said. “It was like the full-on brain injury that wasn’t getting the attention I deserved or needed.”

At one point, even speaking became difficult. “Last year, I couldn’t even speak a full cognitive sentence.”

Rather than allowing her recovery to be defined by appointments and treatment rooms, Cloutier searched for another way forward. “That’s where I took it upon myself to heal outside of the treatment rooms because I was in treatment like five days a week,” she said.

Although she had limited use of her hands and vision challenges caused by nerve damage, she taught herself how to bead. “I started beading to get my hands moving and kind of create a healing process through eye and hand,” she said. “I found that I was really good at it really quickly, and I was self-taught.”

Beading soon became much more than a hobby. It improved her hand-eye coordination and became an important part of her rehabilitation. Her intricate beaded medallions began attracting attention online.

Her creativity continued to grow. “I started beading, and then I started sewing ribbon skirts and realizing that there’s something I can be creating, but I don’t quite know what it is yet,” she said.

Through a social media series she called “Making a Ribbon Skirt a Day,” Cloutier shared her progress while developing her skills and reconnecting with her culture.

Then inspiration struck. “I actually made a post about it that said, ‘Which one of my ancestors gave me the confidence to think I could create a star blanket?’”

Without a pattern or previous quilting experience, Cloutier designed and sewed her first Star Blanket for her daughter, Mahikan. “I made one without a pattern, without any previous quilting experience, and it was perfect,” she said.

That creation sparked another idea.

Inspired by traditional kokum scarves, she designed what she calls the Kokum Hug – a shawl lined with soft fabric and finished with a traditional eight-point star. “That’s where I created the kokum hug, and I put the star on the back,” Cloutier said. “And that kind of took off.”

Still, she believed there was something even bigger waiting. “At that point, I still thought I can do something bigger, better.”

That vision became reality in February 2026 when she created her first quilted Star Blanket Jacket and named the collection the Protection Collection. “It was a hit,” said Cloutier.

She had no idea how quickly the Indigenous community would embrace it. “I didn’t realize that it had that much impact on the Indigenous community.”

Orders arrived almost immediately. “The second I made it, was the second I posted it, was the second I sold it,” she said. “So I created another one, and it sold in 20 minutes. I created a third one, it sold in 20 minutes.”

Even bringing jackets to markets became almost unnecessary. “I created a fourth and fifth one, and I took them to a vending gig that I did,” she said. “And the second I walked in and pulled the jacket out just to put it on the table, it sold.”

Although demand continued to grow, Cloutier wasn’t satisfied with her early designs. “I just kept creating and creating and changing and altering everything until it was perfect.”

Today, every Protection Collection jacket is still sewn by hand.

Each piece is custom made, allowing clients to choose colours that reflect their own stories while the traditional star blanket remains at the heart of every design. “Now, that’s all I’m doing is sewing and creating these jackets,” Cloutier said. “I’m booked up until January 2027.”

For Cloutier, however, success isn’t measured by sales. “There were always those people that taught us that we were not enough,” she said. “My work exists to reconnect and increase belonging.”

She believes every jacket creates its own journey. “When someone buys a jacket, they feel connected. When they choose the colors to create their jacket, they feel a spiritual connection. When they receive their jacket, it’s an emotional connection. When they wear their jacket, it’s a restorative connection.”

Supported by five generations of strong women in her family, Cloutier says every stitch honours those who came before her. “I just want to be that one conscious generation that hopefully helps change the trajectory towards reclaiming agency and honoring our ancestors,” she said.

“Our people have a voice, and it’s time to write our stories with love, honor, and respect, instead of having them written for us.”

About Deena Cloutier