Salish blankets : robes of protection and transformation, symbols of wealth / Leslie H. Tepper, Janice George (Chepximiya Siyam), and Willard Joseph (Skwetsimltexw).

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Salish Blankets presents a new perspective on Salish weaving through technical and anthropological lenses. Worn as ceremonial robes, the blankets are complex objects said to preexist in the supernatural realm and made manifest in the natural world through ancestral guidance. The blankets are protective garments that at times of great life changes--birth, marriage, death--offer emotional strength and mental focus. A blanket can help establish the owner's standing in the community and demonstrate a weaver's technical expertise and artistic vision. The object, the maker, the wearer, and the community are bound and transformed through the creation and use of the blanket.

Drawing on first-person accounts of Salish community members, object analysis, and earlier ethnographic sources, the authors offer a wide-ranging material culture study of Coast Salish lifeways. Salish Blankets explores the design, color/pigmentation, meaning, materials, and process of weaving and examines its historical and cultural contexts.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

After reading Tepper (Canadian Museum of History), George, and Joseph's book, readers will have a sense of how difficult it was researching the topic of Salish weaving, particularly given the poor documentation of the early contact period. There is little information written about Salish weaving in particular, or Indigenous weaving gernerally. Though a relatively short book, it is dense and filled with many images of Salish weavings. The discussions that would interest most readers frame three fairly technical and detailed chapters. Those chapters are more general discussions that situate Salish weaving culturally and historically. An interesting point the authors make a few times are the links between Salish and other Indigenous peoples. The book has excellent quotes from both past and present weavers that enliven the discussion. Of particular note in that context is one of the appendixes, which is filled with quotes organized around all the cultural aspects with which Salish weavings are interwoven. Neophytes on the subject would have trouble following the three very detailed chapters. For collections that already contain books on Salish weaving (e.g., Paula Gustafson's Salish Weaving; CH, May'81) or other Indigenous weaving, this book is an excellent addition. It is also a nice addition to general Salish ethnography. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --Mark Ebert, Native Law Centre of Canada