Clothing

Clothing was made from the soft thin bark of the cedar tree. When stripping the bark, care was taken not to take too much and kill the tree. The First Nations were much more interested in preserving the coastal environment than were the Europeans who followed them.

The bark was treated by soaking it in water and then beating it into soft shreds. This shredded and oiled bark created warm, waterproof protection from the rainy, chilly, and foggy climate.

Men and women wore cedar bark capes and blankets which were cleverly woven to further repel water. The cape was made with a hole for the head with soft fur around the neck for comfort. Rainproof hats were woven from spruce roots and women wore cedar bark skirts that looked very similar to hula dancer's skirts. A beautiful cedar bark and mountain goat hair cape, called a "Chilkat Blanket" was worn only by the chief . The blanket had long fringes around the bottom with an animal design woven into the blanket. Sea otter and other fur robes were only worn by people of high rank.



Cedar bark was used in the production of rope, mats and basketry-often combined with other elements of the cedar, such as the limbs, roots, or boughs, for strength or decoration. In the past, cedar bark was the main material used in the production of clothing for the Stó:lō people. Today, the soft material is often used in the making of regalia.