Podcast Summary: Haptic & Hue – The Dog Hair Blankets of the Coast Salish People

Host: Jo Andrews
Air Date: December 4, 2025

Overview

This episode of Haptic & Hue, hosted by Jo Andrews, delves into the remarkable and nearly forgotten tradition of the Coast Salish peoples: breeding a unique type of woolly dog for their fiber, which was spun and woven into blankets integral to ceremony, status, and daily life. Andrews is joined by Coast Salish weaver Deborah Sparrow, former chief Stephen Point, researcher Liz Hammond Kareema, evolutionary biologist Audrey Lynn, and geneticist Logan Kistler. Together, they explore the dogs’ history, their extinction, the cultural and colonial forces that shaped their story, and how modern science is collaborating with Indigenous oral tradition to rediscover and honor this heritage.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Coast Salish Woolly Dogs: Life and Appearance

• The Coast Salish region straddles today’s Canada-US border on the Pacific Coast, comprising over 40 nations with a shared ancestry but diverse languages ([00:20]).
• Unique among North American peoples, the Coast Salish intentionally bred small, fluffy, white “woolly” dogs for their fiber. Dogs were about 18 inches high, with a foxlike appearance, small pointed ears, and curled tails ([01:08], [01:46]).
• These animals formed the backbone of a textile tradition passed down through oral history—a tradition nearly lost due to colonial erasure ([01:58]).

Cultural Significance of Dog Hair Blankets

• Dog hair blankets were deeply embedded in ceremony and identity, used for rites of passage, marriage, and death ([04:36]).
  • Quote (Deborah Sparrow, [04:36]):
    “It's about my identity and the values with my history and the ability to wrap your people, to wrap society, to wrap the world as well, and remind them of what we exist for.”
• The act of blanketing marked leadership and authority; chiefs donned these special garments for significant occasions, symbolizing governance and the right to self-determination ([07:17]).
  • Quote (Stephen Point, [07:17]):
    “The symbol of their authority was the blanket. So [it’s] incredibly important part of who we are as Stalo people.”

The Disappearance of the Dogs and Their Fiber

• Blanket weaving ceased as the woolly dogs went extinct in the late 19th–early 20th centuries. Colonial authorities discouraged, then outlawed, many Indigenous cultural practices ([08:21], [10:24]).
• The Canadian Indian Act banned potlatch ceremonies, blanket giveaways, and other key Coast Salish traditions; children were taken to residential schools and severed from their history and language ([09:45], [13:09]).
  • Quote (Stephen Point, [10:24]):
    “It was against the law to practice your Native culture. And so essentially, the culture went underground.”
  • Quote (Stephen Point, [12:21]):
    “Somewhere between 90 and 95% of our people died from contact with diseases brought by Europeans...We’re still reeling from the shock, I think, of colonialism.”

Oral Tradition, Skepticism, and Scientific Proof

• Despite prolific oral accounts, 20th-century academics and museum professionals grew doubtful that true “dog wool” existed, demanding scientific proof ([15:26], [16:38]).
  • Quote (Liz Hammond Kareema, [16:07]):
    “Coast Salish oral history...they always knew in all the Coast Salish villages that wool dogs were kept. And I thought it was very strange that this disconnect between oral history, even European records and museum records, and yet there's this doubt.”
• Blankets sometimes used dog hair alone, or blended it with mountain goat wool, elk/deer sinew, or even duck down ([16:32]).

Rediscovering Mutton: The Last Surviving Pelt

• Evolutionary biologist Audrey Lynn discovered the Smithsonian held a full pelt of a woolly dog named Mutton, collected in 1859 ([19:41], [20:02]).
• DNA analysis allowed scientists to confirm Mutton was 84% pre-colonial Indigenous dog with a maternal lineage traced back 1,800–4,800 years ([24:05]).
  • Quote (Audrey Lynn, [24:05]):
    “He’s about, what is it? 84% pre colonial indigenous dog, about 16% European. So he does have like, a little bit of mixing, but he is essentially a native dog.”
• This provided long-sought scientific validation for Indigenous genealogical knowledge.

“Two-Eyed Seeing”: Bridging Indigenous Knowledge and Science

• The project embraced a “two-eyed seeing” approach—combining Western science and Indigenous oral tradition for a holistic understanding ([25:32]).
  • Quote (Liz Hammond Kareema, [25:32]):
    “You end up with research that's much more enriched because of the two ways of knowing.”
• Careful genetic analysis revealed that Coast Salish breeding practices—such as isolating woolly dogs—were reflected in Mutton’s unique genetic markers ([27:36], [29:17]).
• Even with only a single DNA sample, researchers identified genes (such as KANK2, linked to “woolly hair” in humans) under selective pressure for fluffy, spinnable fiber ([29:31]).
  • Quote (Logan Kistler, [31:08]):
    “We have this bluntest of analytical instruments because we only have one dog, and yet we still see this thing light up like a Christmas tree...this is very consistent with thousands of years of very dedicated breeding and care.”

Reconstructing Mutton and Legacy

• A forensic artist reconstructed Mutton’s likeness; described as a small Samoyed-like dog ([31:48]).
• His undercoat is “soft” and “wants to make yarn” ([32:52]).
• Mutton’s pelt is now displayed at the Burke Museum in Seattle, offering the public a window into this lost world ([33:17]).
• Mutton’s DNA can now act as a reference for testing the origins of museum blankets globally.

Timestamps for Notable Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Content | |-----------|----------------| | 00:20 | Introduction to Coast Salish lands and history with woolly dogs | | 03:17 | Deborah Sparrow recounts her grandfather’s ceremonial blanket experience | | 07:17 | Meaning of the dog hair blankets in holding leadership, with Stephen Point | | 09:45 | Cultural suppression—grandfather’s residential school trauma | | 12:21 | The devastating population loss and fallout of colonialism | | 15:26 | Western skepticism about dog hair blankets | | 19:41 | Discovery of the "Mutton" pelt at the Smithsonian | | 24:05 | DNA results – confirming Mutton as an Indigenous woolly dog | | 25:32 | The “two-eyed seeing” research approach explained | | 29:31 | Discovery of unique gene markers for woolliness | | 31:48 | Artist’s reconstruction of Mutton’s appearance | | 33:17 | Mutton's display in museum; candles on potential future research | | 34:54 | Deborah Sparrow reflects on the enduring honor and lessons of the woolly dog |

Memorable Quotes

• Deborah Sparrow ([04:36]):
  “It's about my identity and the values with my history and the ability to wrap your people, to wrap society, to wrap the world as well, and remind them of what we exist for.”
• Stephen Point ([10:24]):
  “It was against the law to practice your Native culture. And so essentially, the culture went underground.”
• Liz Hammond Kareema ([25:32]):
  “You end up with a research that's much more enriched because of the two ways of knowing.”
• Logan Kistler ([31:08]):
  “We have this bluntest of analytical instruments because we only have one dog, and yet we still see this thing light up like a Christmas tree...this is very consistent with thousands of years of very dedicated breeding and care.”
• Deborah Sparrow ([34:54]):
  “All of it for which we wouldn't have been warm, we wouldn't have had this existence because it gifted to us. And that's the honor that I feel about it is every day I'm honored every day.”

Tone and Language

The discussion is deeply respectful, rich with emotion, and vivid in storytelling, alternating between first-person recollections and scientific marvel. Guests speak with pride, loss, and resilience regarding Coast Salish identity, weaving, and the ongoing effort to remember and revitalize Indigenous knowledge.

In Summary

The Coast Salish woolly dog is both a scientific marvel and a profound emblem of Indigenous resilience, a bridge between ancient breed management and modern molecular genetics, between oral and written records. Through stories, science, and renewed recognition, the “fibers of the land and life” (Deborah Sparrow, [34:54]) continue to speak, reminding us of the deep connections between people, textiles, and the worlds they build.

For more pictures and resources, visit hapticandhue.com and look for Series 7.