I recently had the opportunity to visit the Burke Museum on the University of Washington campus for the first time. A trip to this natural history museum has been on my list ever since we moved to Seattle, but the museum’s current special exhibit on Coast Salish weaving finally got me there. I thought the exhibit would add to my research on the Native Americans in this area for my work‑in‑progress, which is set in this region in the mid‑19th century.
When I arrived at the Burke Museum, I headed straight for the special exhibition, Woven in Wool: Resilience in Coast Salish Weaving. This gallery showcases both historic and contemporary woven works—blankets, capes, skirts, hats, and other items crafted from such materials as cedar fibers and mountain goat wool.
I knew that Native peoples of the Northwest wove with both cedar and mountain goat, but I hadn’t realized they also used Woolly Dog fur to create yarns. These long‑haired dogs were bred specifically for their soft white coats, and they also made good pets. Unfortunately, the breed is now extinct.
The special exhibit walks visitors through the full cycle of weaving—gathering materials, spinning the wool, dyeing with berries and mushrooms, and finally creating designs on traditional looms. Seeing the looms reminded me of my mother’s tabletop loom from my childhood, and I could easily imagine Salish and other Northwest Native women weaving in much the same way that she did.
I also enjoyed comparing Salish designs with those from other indigenous cultures around the world. Capes made of cedar and similar plant fibers look much the same, no matter where they were created.
After touring the weaving exhibit, I explored the rest of the Burke Museum. As a teaching museum, many of its work areas are visible from the visitor galleries, which adds a behind‑the‑scenes feel. The collections range from dinosaurs to modern trash heaps—anything that fits its themes of archeology and anthropology.
Because one of my goals was to gather historical context for my novel, I spent extra time in the permanent exhibit on the history of the Columbia River. This display traces how the river has been shaped by geology and human activity over hundreds of years. It covers the Ice Age floods that carved the river’s path, the landslide that sent huge boulders tumbling into its current, Native American fishing practices, the rapids that challenged pioneers heading to Oregon, the construction of dams that transformed the region, and today’s debates over whether those dams should remain.
I left the museum feeling better equipped to write authentically about both the land and the people of the Pacific Northwest. My tour on the Burke Museum was also a powerful reminder that the stories of the land and the stories of the people are inseparable—woven together like the Coast Salish capes and blankets I had just admired. The museum is well worth a visit. Its special exhibit on Coast Salish weaving is open until August 30, 2026.
What was the last museum you visited, and what did you learn from it?
