Until now, there has been very little written about the Coast Salish Woolly Dog, or sqʷəmey̓ in the Hul’q’umi’num language. According to Indigenous oral histories of the Pacific Northwest, this small dog was bred by Coast Salish peoples for thousands of years for its woolly fibres, which were woven into blankets, robes and regalia. Although the dogs were carefully protected by Coast Salish peoples, by the 1900s, the Woolly Dog had become so rare it is now considered extinct.
Mutton — the last surviving Woolly Dog prior to the species’ extinction — makes an appearance in Parallax(e), as he belonged to George Gibbs, member of the U.S. Northwest Boundary Survey team. Mutton’s pelt languished in a drawer at the Smithsonian Institution for 150 years until it was discovered, almost accidentally, by an amateur archivist.
Join authors Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa, Senaqwila Wyss and Tsumi’tsiye Violet Elliott for a discussion that will shed light on aspects of Mutton’s story and explore what it can teach us about Coast Salish Woolly Dogs and their cultural significance. This discussion is moderated by Kelley Tialiou, Curator of Art and Visual Culture at The Reach.
Copies of The Teachings of Mutton are available for sale at The Reach and a book signing will follow.
Biographies
Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa has an MA in educational technology and holds a Master Spinner Certificate from Olds College. She is a researcher of Coast Salish spinning and collaborates with museums and Indigenous communities, sharing her knowledge through research, writing, workshops and lectures. Her research and publications focus on Coast Salish textiles, including articles in academic journals and magazines.
Senaqwila Wyss is from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), with Tsimshian, Stó:lō, Hawaiian and Swiss ancestry. She is an ethnobotanist, warrior entrepreneur, co-owner of Raven and Hummingbird Tea Co. and a weaver. She is also an Indigenous cultural programmer at MONOVA, where in 2023 she coordinated the public presentation of Stém̓xwulh: Woolly Dog Weavings, featuring two rare Salish Wooly Dog ceremonial robes. In 2021, Senaqwila’s six-part #WoollyWednesday series highlighted Salish perspectives and demystified colonial narratives, bringing forth the beautiful relationship the Salish Nations had with their Salish Woolly Dogs. It was also broadcast on CBC.
Tsumi’tsiye Violet Elliott is from Snuneymuxw, Stzuminus, Penalekut and Cowichan, and now resides in Quamichan, which is in Cowichan. Violet has been weaving for twenty-five years. She has taught hat-weaving and purse-weaving workshops, and visits schools to introduce children and youth to the values of cedar-bark gathering. She has primarily worked in the counselling / facilitating field, teaching the history and impacts of colonization and Indian Residential Schools.
