Haida trading canoes returning from the Nass brought with them as part of their cargo the horns of mountain sheep, from which they made spoons and bowls. The species native to the northern coastal mountains is the Dall sheep, with amber horns somewhat less massive than those of the bighorn sheep. Mountain rams' horns form large, tapered spirals of very tough resilient material which can be carved with woodworking tools and has the quality of becoming soft and flexible when soaked and heated. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)

The massive spiral horns of the mountain sheep furnished Northwest Coast craftsmen with material for many objects, chief among them bowls and spoons. The horn is very tough and hard, but when fresh and thoroughly soaked it can be carved. Heating the horn by steaming or boiling makes it somewhat soft and flexible, and it can be bent and shaped within limits. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

In the Spirit of the Ancestors-Robes like this are known as nobility blankets because they were worn by high-ranking Salish families who had the wealth to commission them. Sisters Debra and Robyn Sparrow have been leaders of the revival of Musqueam weaving. In the course of weaving this robe, the Musqueam community and the Sparrow family suffered a number of deaths, leading Debra and Robyn to call it a mourning blanket.