> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.unknowndivide.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Ginew Explained: The First Native American-Owned Denim Brand and 5 Pieces Worth Buying - URL: https://www.unknowndivide.com/ginew-native-american-owned-denim-brand/ - Published: 2026-11-14T15:17:52.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-14T15:17:52.000Z - Description: Ginew is the Native American-owned denim brand behind the new Milton Rider Coat. Who makes it, what the name means, and the 5 pieces we would buy. - Author: unknowndivide staff - Tags: Style In the 1950s and 1960s, a Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican man named Milton left the reservation in Wisconsin every week to weld for Harley-Davidson. His granddaughter, Dr. Amanda Bruegl, now co-runs a clothing company out of Portland, Oregon, and this fall it put his name on a waxed canvas rider coat lined in Pendleton wool. That company is [Ginew](https://www.ginewusa.com/?ref=unknowndivide.com), and the coat is a good way into a brand that has been quietly building some of the most personal workwear in America for more than a decade. Here is who is behind Ginew, what the name means, how the clothes are made, and the five pieces from the current line we would actually buy. ## Who makes Ginew Ginew is a small Native American-owned family business run by two doctors. Dr. Amanda Bruegl is Oneida and Stockbridge-Munsee of the Turtle clan. Dr. Erik Brodt is Ojibwe of the Pine Marten clan. Both grew up in the Great Lakes region, in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, and moved west to Portland to work in healthcare and grow the collection. The brand describes itself as the first Native American-owned denim collection, and its design language pulls directly from Ojibwe, Oneida and Stockbridge-Munsee symbols. It calls the result Native Americana, a play on the workwear and western clothing most people already know, retold by the families whose history runs underneath it. ![Ginew founders Amanda Bruegl and Erik Brodt standing in a field in denim and a rust jacket](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/254117cc-2631-4fb7-9f78-fa31eac12f1a/content/images/2026/11/ginew-founders-amanda-bruegl-erik-brodt.jpg) Ginew co-founders Dr. Amanda Bruegl and Dr. Erik Brodt. Image: Ginew ## It started with a wedding buffalo Ginew did not start with jeans. In the fall of 2010, Amanda and Erik made belts from the hide of their wedding buffalo, which was hunted by Erik's father and prepared, tanned and hand-dyed by the couple and their families. The belts began as gifts. Denim, outerwear and everything else came later. The name comes from the same place. Ginew, said GIH-NOO, means brown or golden eagle in Ojibwe and is part of Erik's name. In the story the brand tells, a Ginew waits at the edge of the Spirit World high in a white pine, and anyone making that journey has to answer when it asks for their name and clan. That idea of knowing where you come from is the thread through every garment they make. ## Every coat is named for a relative The detail that sets Ginew apart from most heritage labels is that its outerwear is literally family history. The first garment the brand ever made was the Heritage Coat, dreamed up on a cold morning in Marfa, Texas, around the question of what their great-grandfathers would have needed in a coat when their families moved from a seasonal, migratory life to farming. That coat was later shown in Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour, the first fashion exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. ![Close view of a Ginew Heritage Coat in selvedge denim with a Pendleton wool blanket lining and Ginew label](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/254117cc-2631-4fb7-9f78-fa31eac12f1a/content/images/2026/11/ginew-heritage-coat-pendleton-lining.jpg) The Heritage Coat, Ginew's first garment, with its Pendleton-woven blanket lining. Image: Ginew Since then, the coats have each been built around a specific person. The Bill Barn Coat is named for Erik's great-grandfather, known to Ojibwe speakers as Chi-ininii, Big Man. The women's Niizhoo, Ojibwe for Two, honors the women who lead their communities. And the new Milton Rider Coat is for Amanda's grandfather, the Harley-Davidson welder. Ginew says it built the Milton the way he worked: nothing rushed, nothing wasted. Even the buttons carry a story. Every brass button is cast from a real leaf that fell from the white oak tree Amanda and Erik were married under, on a small farm in the Wisconsin countryside. The original button was also marked WI and TX, for the two states they lived in during Ginew's first year. ## How the clothes are made Ginew works in small batches, usually 25 to 100 of each cut and sewn item, and leans on natural fibers: selvedge denim, wax canvas, cotton and wool. The blanket linings are woven by Pendleton in Oregon, often in heavy 32 oz un-napped wool, a weight the brand says almost no one uses anymore. If the name rings a bell, our [Pendleton Woolen Mills explainer](https://www.unknowndivide.com/pendleton-woolen-mills-explained/) covers why those blankets carry so much weight in the first place. The other partners are just as specific. Japanese selvedge denim comes from the Nihon Menpu mill. The waxed shells are Martexin Army Duck, from a family that has supplied the US military for seven generations. The made-to-order Bill Barn Coat is cut and sewn one at a time by Apparel Werks in Portland. The brand has also built outerwear with the Dehen 1920 factory, shown below. ![A sewing machinist building a Ginew Facing East jacket at the Dehen 1920 factory](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/254117cc-2631-4fb7-9f78-fa31eac12f1a/content/images/2026/11/ginew-facing-east-jacket-dehen-1920-factory.jpg) A Ginew Facing East jacket being built at the Dehen 1920 factory. Image: Ginew Two more details are worth knowing before you buy. Through its Ginew+ line, Native artists who design pieces receive a share of every sale, and Ginew follows the 1990 Indian Arts and Crafts Act with every artist it works with. Not everything is made in the USA, either. The Pendleton-lined coats are sewn in the USA, but some of the shirts and the Thunderbird chore coat are imported, and each product page says which. ## The 5 best Ginew pieces to buy now We went through the whole current line and picked the pieces that best show what Ginew does, favoring things you can actually order today. ### 1\. Milton Rider Coat ![Inside of the Ginew Milton Rider Coat in brown wax canvas showing the red Pendleton Harding pattern lining](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/254117cc-2631-4fb7-9f78-fa31eac12f1a/content/images/2026/11/ginew-milton-rider-coat-harding-red-lining.jpg) The Milton Rider Coat in Brush Brown with Pendleton's Harding Red lining. Image: Ginew The headline piece of the season, and the reason we went looking. The shell is 10.10 oz Martexin Army Duck wax canvas, the lining is Pendleton-woven wool blanket cloth, the sleeves are lined in quilted satin, and the brass buttons carry the oak leaf. It has a modern fit with two side pockets, two chest pockets and an inside chest pocket, and it is made in the USA. Ginew says it built the coat like a machine, the way the Flathead engines Milton welded were built to last. There are six versions, and the lining weight changes with the pattern. The Brush Brown and Black coats with Harding Red, and the Brush Brown with Harding Turquoise, use 20.8 oz wool. The Orange with Smith Rock, whose colors come from the rock faces of Smith Rock in central Oregon, and the Charcoal with Rancho Arroyo Silver use 32 oz wool, which Ginew says is twice the density of a standard lining. The Olive and the Charcoal are sold out as we write this. Pick it if you want a coat that looks like a classic trucker on the outside and a blanket on the inside. Shop: [Milton Rider Coat in Brush Brown and Harding Red](https://www.ginewusa.com/products/milton-rider-coat?ref=unknowndivide.com), [Brush Brown and Harding Turquoise](https://www.ginewusa.com/products/milton-rider-coat-brush-brown-harding-turquoise?ref=unknowndivide.com), [Black and Harding Red](https://www.ginewusa.com/products/milton-rider-coat-black-harding-red?ref=unknowndivide.com) or [Orange and Smith Rock](https://www.ginewusa.com/products/milton-rider-coat-orange-smith-rock?ref=unknowndivide.com). ![Ginew Milton Rider Coat in brush brown wax canvas with a turquoise Pendleton Harding lining](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/254117cc-2631-4fb7-9f78-fa31eac12f1a/content/images/2026/11/ginew-milton-rider-coat-brush-brown-harding-turquoise.jpg) The Brush Brown and Harding Turquoise version. Image: Ginew ### 2\. Bill Barn Coat, Wyeth Trail ![Ginew Bill Barn Coat in indigo selvedge denim opened to show a Pendleton Wyeth Trail wool lining](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/254117cc-2631-4fb7-9f78-fa31eac12f1a/content/images/2026/11/ginew-bill-barn-coat-wyeth-trail-lining.jpg) The Bill Barn Coat with Pendleton's Wyeth Trail lining. Image: Ginew If the Milton is the new story, the Bill is the brand at full strength. It is 14 oz Japanese selvedge denim from Nihon Menpu, dyed with natural indigo, over a 32 oz Pendleton wool lining in the Wyeth Trail pattern, with satin-quilted sleeves and a split back. It is made to order and sewn by hand at Apparel Werks in Portland, and ships in four to six weeks. The first run, with a Facing East lining designed by the artist Dyani White Hawk, was a limited edition of 10 and is gone. This is the version you can still order. Shop: [Bill Barn Coat Wyeth Trail at Ginew](https://www.ginewusa.com/products/bill-barn-coat-wyeth-trail?ref=unknowndivide.com). ### 3\. Thunderbird Chore Coat with Backcountry Lining ![Copper Ojibwe Thunderbird and lightning embroidery under the collar of the Ginew Thunderbird Chore Coat](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/254117cc-2631-4fb7-9f78-fa31eac12f1a/content/images/2026/11/ginew-thunderbird-chore-coat-embroidery.jpg) The copper Thunderbird hidden under the collar of the chore coat. Image: Ginew The everyday option. Flip the collar and there is an Ojibwe Thunderbird with lightning, embroidered in copper thread. The rivets carry Ginew's Skydome Lodges design, a fusion of Oneida and Ojibwe symbols. The shell is 12 oz dark indigo denim, the lining is a warm wool blend with satin-quilted sleeves, and the collar is corduroy. It is all-gender and imported, and Ginew suggests sizing down if you are between sizes. If you have been eyeing a chore coat, our [chore coat explainer](https://www.unknowndivide.com/chore-coat-explained-french-and-american-workwear/) shows where this one fits. Shop: [Thunderbird Chore Coat at Ginew](https://www.ginewusa.com/products/barn-coat-denim?ref=unknowndivide.com). ### 4\. Rugby Thunderbird Shirt ![Back of the Ginew Rugby Thunderbird Shirt in navy and cream stripes with a Thunderbird patch](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/254117cc-2631-4fb7-9f78-fa31eac12f1a/content/images/2026/11/ginew-rugby-thunderbird-shirt-navy-cream.jpg) The Rugby Thunderbird Shirt in navy and cream stripe. Image: Ginew The easiest way into the brand. It is a heavy 8 oz cotton rugby with the Ojibwe Thunderbird on the chest patch and again across the back, a contrast collar and rubber buttons. It is all-gender, imported, and comes in navy and cream stripe or black. It works under any of the coats above. Shop: [Rugby Thunderbird Shirt Navy Cream Stripe](https://www.ginewusa.com/products/rugby-shirt-navy-stripe?ref=unknowndivide.com) or [Rugby Thunderbird Shirt Black](https://www.ginewusa.com/products/rugby-thunderbird-shirt-black?ref=unknowndivide.com). ### 5\. Steven Paul Judd Sitting Bull Wild Rag ![Ginew Steven Paul Judd Sitting Bull wild rag with a painted profile of Sitting Bull in sunset colors](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/41/254117cc-2631-4fb7-9f78-fa31eac12f1a/content/images/2026/11/ginew-steven-paul-judd-sitting-bull-wild-rag.jpg) The Sitting Bull wild rag by Steven Paul Judd. Image: Ginew The gift pick, and a direct way to support a Native artist. Steven Paul Judd, who is Kiowa and Choctaw, painted Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake, Sitting Bull of the Hunkpapa Lakota. This 43 inch square cotton wild rag carries that painting, mirrored top and bottom like a playing card, over a ground in Plains sunset colors. It is made in the USA, it carries both signatures, and Judd shares in the revenue from every one. Shop: [Sitting Bull Wild Rag at Ginew](https://www.ginewusa.com/products/steve-paul-judd-sitting-bull-wild-rag?ref=unknowndivide.com). One to watch: the [Indigo West Fork Selvedge Jean](https://www.ginewusa.com/products/west-fork-jean-indigo-selvedge-japanese-denim?ref=unknowndivide.com), named for the West Fork of the Red Cedar River at the heart of the Stockbridge-Munsee reservation, hides a Thunderbird chainstitch inside the back pocket that only shows once the denim fades. It is sold out in every size right now. New to raw denim? Start with our [selvedge denim explainer](https://www.unknowndivide.com/selvedge-denim-explained/). For more on the materials, see our guide to [waxed canvas](https://www.unknowndivide.com/waxed-canvas-tin-cloth-explained/), and if you buy a waxed coat, [how to rewax it at home](https://www.unknowndivide.com/how-to-rewax-a-waxed-jacket/). Ginew says to spot or hand wash its wax canvas cold and hang it dry, and never to machine dry or dry clean it. The rest of our heritage picks live in the [denim and workwear hub](https://www.unknowndivide.com/japanese-denim-and-workwear/). **Our call: buy, and start with the Milton Rider Coat or the Bill Barn Coat.** Plenty of brands sell waxed canvas and blanket-lined denim. Very few can tell you whose life each coat was built around, then back it with Pendleton wool, a military-grade duck shell and buttons cast from their own wedding tree. Pick the Milton if you want the new season's story in a trucker shape, the Bill if you want the most handmade piece in the line, and the Rugby or the wild rag if you want to start small. Order the Milton soon if you have a size or color in mind, since two of the six versions are already sold out.