Salish Dancer Glass Totem
“Prior to European contact in the 19th Century, my people, the Coast Salish, passed on their history and values through storytelling, songs and dance. Throughout most of the year they lived outdoors, hunting and fishing in the spring, and gathering berries, shellfish and cattails in the summer. The women were expert basket weavers. Towards the end of November, when the “frogs stopped singing” and the days grew shorter, they moved into their longhouses for the Winter Ceremony. During this time, the people feasted and gave things away and continued to do so until all the food, clothing, basket and blanket give-aways were gone. In February, when the “frogs started singing again” my people left their longhouses and returned to hunting and gathering. The imagery on this carved glass housepost, “Salish Dancer”, represented this time of the Winter Solstice.”
-Susan Point (Musqueam).