Chilkat blankets and leggings were initially developed among the Tsimshian-speaking people who lived along the Skeena and Nass River. These groups had easy access to mountain goats in their traditional territory. This type of blanket however was later refined in the late nineteenth century by the Chilkat tribe of the Tlingit, whose territory was at the mouth of the Chilkat River in Southeast Alaska. Early explorers like Captain James Cook collected cedar bark capes decorated with small amounts of goat's wool; not until the early nineteenth century did full Chilkat-style blankets appear in collections.

Sherri Dick’s leggings speak to the continued utilization of ancient knowledge, and it is the production of these works for both ceremonial and commercial use keeps the tradition alive for the next generation.