Coast Salish
"Coast SAY-lish"
Coast Salish territory has many distinct groups, each with their own name. Ancestral Coast Salish lands surround Puget Sound, and extend north to the Gulf of Georgia, encompassing southeastern Vancouver Island and southern mainland British Columbia.
Population: Approximately 50,000 Language: More than a dozen related languages and dialects in the Salishan language family
In Coast Salish Territory—Seattle Area
L. Valencia
Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI)
E. Willhite
Braunger-Ullstein Bild/Granger NYC
University of Washington, Special Collections, NA680
Museum of History & Industry, Anders B. Wilse Collection, 1990.45.14
Associated Press
A. Morrison
In Coast Salish Territory—Vancouver
G. Lawson
C. Frampton
G. Lawson
G. Lawson
Museum Of Anthropology/The University of British Columbia
P. Hodgson
From the Collections: Coast Salish Twana basket

Basket
A woman living near Washington State’s Skokomish River wove this basket with a popular design: wolves on the rim and salmon gills on the rest. The bright carrying strap is odd for this soft style basket, which wasn’t made for heavy loads. The strap likely was added later for effect—perhaps to make it more attractive to a potential buyer.
This basket is from Coast Salish territory in Washington State.
AMNH 16.1/1966, acquired 1923

AMNH Library 42957

Oregon Historical Society
Meanings of Mountains

R. Bishop/AGE Fotostock

B. Dean
From the Collections: Cowichan Spindle Whorl

Spindle whorl
Quw’utsun’ (Cowichan) women on Vancouver Island attached this disk to a spindle—a wooden rod—to spin fibers into yarn. Spindle whorls add weight and tension to improve the yarn’s twist. Traditionally, Quw’utsun’ women spun mountain goat hair to make blankets. By the 1850s, English and Scottish people introduced domestic sheep to the area. Sheep wool spinning—and sweater knitting—then became new Quw’utsun’ traditions.
This spindle whorl is from Coast Salish territory on Vancouver Island off the coast of mainland British Columbia, Canada.
AMNH 16.1/1865, acquired 1929

Royal BC Museum and Archives PN 83

Vancouver Airport Authority/Larry Goldstein
Fishing Traditions
C. Camm
Jefferson County Historical Society