Ijkalaka's history told by quilt

Ekalaka was named after a Sioux girl, Ijkalaka Russell, the wife of David Harrison Russell, the first white settler in the area. When Ijkalaka met Russell, a scout and frontiersman, she was 16. The daughter of Wombalee We-Chosh (Eagle Man) Ijkalaka (Restless or Moving About) was born in 1858, living on Powder River. She lived with a cousin, Hi Kelly, on a ranch on Chugwater Creek, near present day Laramie, Wyoming.

Her name is featured in the center of the VFW Aux. raffle quilt, a work of art that has been appraised at over $4,000! The quilt face is made entirely of recycled wool, in Native American colors of black, blue, red, yellow, off-white and white. The back is a Native American patterned wool plaid. The borders are red, blue, and white.

The quilt face shows appliqués in black: Native American hunter on his horse, bear, bison, wolves, elk, and deer. The top and bottom feature large eagles in Native American colors. Raffle tickets will be available soon, as well as color posters to reveal the beauty of the quilt. It can be seen at the "Firemen's Barbecue" during Days of '85, November Holiday Bazaar, and in Baker at their craft fair.

This will be the last quilt raffle by the Ekalaka area VFW Auxiliary to post 7885.