Book Lecture: Coast Salish Woolly Dogs
Schedule
Fri Oct 24 2025 at 05:00 pm to 06:00 pm
UTC-07:00Location
6410 23rd Ave NE, Tulalip, WA, United States, Washington 98271 | Marysville, WA
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Join author Liz Hammond-Kaaremaa to hear as she reads from new book The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Wooly Dog. The pelt of a dog named “Mutton” languished in a drawer at the Smithsonian for 150 years until it was discovered, almost accidentally, by an amateur archivist. This book tells Mutton's story and explores what it can teach us about Coast Salish Woolly Dogs and their cultural significance.
Until now, there has been very little written about the enigmatic 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 for thousands of years for its woolly fibers, which were woven into traditional 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.
Co-authored with weavers, Knowledge Keepers, and Elders, The Teachings of Mutton interweaves perspectives from Musqueam, Squamish, Stó:lō, Suquamish, Cowichan, Katzie, Snuneymuxw, and Skokomish cultures with narratives of science, post-contact history, and the lasting and devastating impacts of colonization. Binding it all together is Mutton's story—a tale of research, reawakening, and resurgence.
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Where is it happening?
6410 23rd Ave NE, Tulalip, WA, United States, Washington 98271, 6410 23rd Ave NE, Marysville, WA 98271-9111, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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