The authors of this thoroughly researched volume do indeed bring the “new perspective on Salish weaving” that the book’s cover proclaims. It was exhaustively researched for over twelve years, during which its three authors traveled throughout the United States, Canada, and Great Britain to visit the historic Salish weaving collections of fifteen museums. They examined, photographed, and studied the individual blankets and the accession records of each blanket, as well as the records of woven belts, bands, and tumplines within the collections. They mention that they reorganized and revised many times “during our years of research and writing” (29), in order to sort through cross-cultural understandings.
The book’s introduction begins by addressing the personal and professional relationships the authors have established through their joint working histories over the past twelve years. Two of the authors are Salish weavers. They note that one is a male weaver and that, traditionally, weaving...
