Threads That Bind explores the story of the extinct woolly dog—a breed domesticated thousands of years ago by the Indigenous groups of the Pacific Northwest but unfortunately became extinct in the late 1800s due to colonial rules that banned traditional practices. Coast Salish communities cherished the woolly dog for its soft white fur, which they sheared to create intricate textiles central to their culture. Recently, a woolly dog pelt was discovered at the Smithsonian and genetically sequenced, offering new insights into the dog’s origins and its role in Coast Salish heritage.

After the screening of the 30-minute film there will be a Q&A with a Tessa Campbell, a Coast Salish (Tlingit/Tulalip) weaver and young scholar from the University of Washington, Logan Kistler, Curator of Archaeobotany and Archaeogenomics at the Smithsonian and a geneticist on the woolly dog project, and the filmmaker, Kirk French.

Threads That Bind is co-produced by Kirk French, a professor of anthropology and twice Emmy-nominated filmmaker at Penn State, Neal Hutcheson, filmmaker from NC State and three-time Emmy winner, and the Coast Salish Weaving Advisory Panel.