The history of Coast Salish "woolly dogs" revealed by ancient genomics and Indigenous knowledge
Date
2023
Authors
Lin, Audrey T.
Hammond-Kaarremaa, Liz
Liu, Hsiao-Lei
Stantis, Chris
McKechnie, Iain
Pavel, Michael
Pavel, Susan sa'hLa mitSa
Wyss, Senaqwila Sen̓áḵw
Sparrow, Debra qwasen
Carr, Karen
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Science
Abstract
Ancestral Coast Salish societies in the Pacific Northwest kept long-haired “woolly” dogs that were bred and cared for over millennia. However, the dog wool-weaving tradition declined during the 19th century, and the population was lost. Here, we analyze genomic and isotopic data from a preserved woolly dog pelt, “Mutton”, collected in 1859. Mutton is the only known example of an Indigenous North American dog with dominant pre-colonial ancestry postdating the onset of settler colonialism. We identify candidate genetic variants potentially linked with their unique woolly phenotype. We integrate these data with interviews from Coast Salish Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and weavers about shared traditional knowledge and memories surrounding woolly dogs, their importance within Coast Salish societies, and how colonial policies led directly to their disappearance.
Description
We wish to express our deep gratitude to the Honorable Steven Point, Grand Chief and Dr. Gwen Point of the Stó:lō Nation for giving us permission and encouragement for this research. Thanks to Candace Wellman for her role in re-discovering Mutton, assistance with history of the area, and photographs. We raise our hands in thanks to all people within the Coast Salish communities who have graciously shared their time and knowledge to realize this project, specifically: Xweliqwiya Rena Point Bolton (Stó:lō Nation); Danielle Morsette (Suquamish/Shxwhá:y Village); Eliot Kwulasultun White (Snuneymuxw First Nation); Sulqwan Philomena Williams (Cowichan); Violet Snu’Meethia Elliott (Snuneymuxw); Tracy Sesemiya Williams Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation); Andrea Fritz, Norris family (Lyacksun); Tillie Jones (Tulalip); Tami Hohn (Puyallup); q́wat́ǝlǝmu Nancy Bob (Lummi). Interviews were carried out under Institutional Review Board and Research Ethics Board approvals from the Smithsonian Institution (Human Subjects Protocol #HS220007) and Vancouver Island University (#101410), with informed consent including explicit opt-in permissions to reprint quotations with personal attribution. Computations performed for this paper were conducted on the Smithsonian High Performance Cluster, Smithsonian Institution: https://doi.org/10.25572/SIHPC, and the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ). Portions of the laboratory work were conducted in and with the support of the Laboratories for Analytical Biology (L.A.B.)
facilities of the National Museum of Natural History. Thanks to Tom Gilbert for funding the processing/sequencing of AL3194, John Ososky for specimen handling assistance, and Ludovic Orlando and Sierra Harding for providing helpful comments on the manuscript.
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Citation
Lin, A. T., Hammond-Kaarremaa, L., Liu, H-L., Stantis, C., McKechnie, I., Pavel, M., … Kistler, L. (2023). The history of Coast Salish "woolly dogs" revealed by ancient genomics and Indigenous knowledge. Science, 382(6676), 1303-1308. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi6549