The Legacy of the Salish Woolly Dog

September 14 - September 14
3:30–5 p.m.

Join Senaqwila Wyss, a Squamish Nation ethnobotanist and highly sought-after cultural educator, for a powerful presentation on the Salish Woolly Dog—a sacred Coast Salish breed raised for its wool and cared for with ceremonial intention. This session is a rich exploration of Indigenous resilience, weaving revitalization, and the continued legacy of the Salish Woolly Dog through oral history, plant knowledge, and cultural resurgence.

Drawing from intergenerational knowledge, Senaqwila shares how the extinction of the woolly dog was not due to natural causes, but the direct result of colonial violence: cultural bans, land dispossession, and federal assimilation policies that targeted Indigenous identity, animal kinship, and traditional weaving practices.

Senaqwila Wyss is an ethnobotanist, warrior entrepreneur, and co-owner of Raven and Hummingbird Tea Co. She is from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), Tsimshian, Sto:lo, Hawaiian and Swiss, and will soon graduate with her bachelor’s in communications and First Nations studies at Simon Fraser University.

With her mother, traditionally trained ethnobotanist T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss, Senaqwila uses Indigenous plant teachings and shares that knowledge with people of all ages. She is the Coast Salish program coordinator at Maplewood Flats, North Vancouver, and a Cultural Programmer at the Museum of North Vancouver (MONOVA).

Cost: $15

Register at 604-925-7270 (course # 199381 ) or Register here