Bill Holm is internationally recognized as a leading expert on Northwest Coast, Plateau, and Plains Indian art. As curator emeritus of Native American art at the Burke Museum, professor emeritus of art history at the University of Washington, and author of numerous books and articles, including the classic work Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form, he has established an unparalleled reputation as a scholar, teacher, and craftsman. For many years he has also produced detailed paintings that draw on his ethnographic expertise to recreate the settings in which the old Native...

By carving, weaving, and painting their stories into ceremonial and utilitarian objects, Coast Salish artists render tangible the words and ideas that have been the architecture of this remarkable Pacific Northwest Coast culture. The Coast Salish tribes have developed a culture that was and still is shared orally, steeped in the ritual and beauty of storytelling and mythology. Infused with centuries of sacred teaching, these accounts hold the secrets to the spiritual, political, social, and economic well-being of tribal life. As a testament to their cultural resilience, increasing numbers...