Sx̌ʷayəp (cedar bark dress)

Date1985

Maker Alice Williams Upper Skagit, 1907-1996

Label TextImagine covering yourself with the soft, fragrant fibers of the cedar tree, called the “tree of life” by Northwest Native Peoples. Western red cedar provides generations of Coast Salish people with the perfect material for Native technologies, such as canoes, houses, clothing, food, and medicine. Techniques perfected over time and passed down to descendants, such as Alice Williams, comprise a body of knowledge that sustains and supports Native philosophies regarding intimate connections between place and people.

Object number91.206.1

Photo CreditPhoto Credit: Susan Cole

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Song, Story, Speech: Oral Traditions of Puget Sound's First People, Aug. 5, 2004 - Jan. 31, 2006. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, S'abadeb - The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists, Oct. 24, 2008 - Jan. 11, 2009 (Victoria, British Columbia, Royal British Columbia Museum, Nov. 2009 - Mar. 2010). Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, American Art: The Stories We Carry, Oct. 20, 2022 - ongoing.

Credit LineGift of Vi Hilbert

Dimensions49 x 27 1/4 in. (124.46 x 69.22 cm)

MediumRed cedar bark, raffia