Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa - The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Woolly Dog

The pelt of a dog named “Mutton” languished in a drawer at the Smithsonian for around 150 years until it was discovered, almost accidentally, by amateur archivist Candace Wellman, now an author and historian focusing on Indigenous women of the mid 1800s who married some of the early settlers, explorers and government officials. The Teachings of Mutton 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 wooly 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.

Liz Hammond-Kaaremaa has a 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 (Science, BC Studies) and magazines (Spin-Off, Ply, Selvedge). She lives on Protection Island, near Nanaimo, British Columbia.

Candace Wellman holds a B.A. in Sociology from Washington State University and a B.Ed. in History/Secondary Education from Western Washington University. Born and raised in Washington, she has described herself as an amateur archivist and historian and is now a professional after publishing three books, two with a focus on Indigenous women married to officials in the earliest days of Bellingham colonization: Peace Weavers: Uniting the Coast Salish Through Cross-Cultural Marriages, and Interwoven Lives: Indigenous Mothers of Coast Salish Communities.

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