Woolly Dog Warms His Family

Indigenous artist and storyteller Andrea Fritz tells the tale of a Salish woolly dog who goes on an adventure over land and sea to gather natural fibers to keep his human family warm.

Sqwiqwmi’ the young Salish woolly dog has a nice warm coat, and he wants to help protect his people from the cold and wet West Coast winters too. He sets out to pick the cozy fluff that grows on the nearby fireweed, but the plants are bare this time of year. Guided by a friendly shrew and a wise eagle, Sqwiqwmi’ journeys across the Salish Sea and into high mountains, collecting goat’s wool and nettle stalks—and even some of his own fur!—that his family will spin and weave into beautiful, warm blankets.

In this original story set in Coast Salish Traditional Territory, author and artist Andrea Fritz uses Indigenous storytelling techniques and art to share the culture and language of the Hul’q’umi’num’-speaking Peoples.