Sinsimtko Roi.pellst, Kwolalp, John Roi.pellst, Amy Roi.pellst, and XaxalExkEn modelling traditional clothing, 1914.
Photograph: J.A.Teit.
Canadian Museum of Civilization 27000

Through their clothing, face-painting, and jewellery, the NLaka'pamux of the southern interior of British Columbia expressed the landscape of their homeland, their dreams, and their experience. Their dress was itself an art form; the images they wore expressed their place in society and indicated their relationship with other beings in the universe. The arrival of European traders in the early nineteenth century threatened to displace the techniques for weaving fabrics and tanning skins which had been developed over thousands of years. People adopted new fabrics, decorative materials and fashions; yet the skills needed to produce traditional clothing and the knowledge of its symbolic importance endured, and are still taught in NLaka'pamux communities today.

	Skin Clothing
	Woven Clothing
	Decoration
	Clothing in Transition