Artifact of the Month: March 2026

Child's Cedar Bark Robe

Holly Churchill, granddaughter of Selina Peratrovich and daughter of Delores Churchill, is descended from a long line of Haida weavers and educators. Holly has contributed to the revival of pre-contact Haida cedar bark garments now in use by dance groups. She has taught Northwest Coast weaving to students of all ages at the Totem Heritage Center since 1986, in addition to many other institutions and in schools across Alaska and around the world. Holly leads a cedar bark weaving for youth class during spring break annually, teaching students ages ten to eighteen to weave. Through her expert instruction, students gain skills in processing, weaving techniques and patterns, while developing an appreciation of local Native cultures and the context for weaving practices.

For people living in a rainforest environment, clothing needs to be warm, practical, and ideally shed water. Ketchikan Museums commissioned Holly to create a child-size cedar bark robe as an example of what traditional clothing looked like before European contact. Northwest Coast scholar and artist, Bill Holm helped Holly determine the size of a robe suitable for a young girl. The robe consists of Western redcedar pounded, shredded, cured and processed in tide pools of salt water. Alaska yellow-cedar weft was steeped in salt water with oils and thigh-twined. Around the collar is sea otter fur trim traditionally hunted from the waters of Prince of Wales Island by Robert Almquist. Two abalone shell buttons fasten the robe around the shoulders. The robe was validated and danced at Bill Reid's memorial at the Haida village of Tanu in Haida Gwaii on July 5, 1998.

The robe is on display in the new special exhibit, Cedar: The Tree of Life, at the Tongass Historical Museum.


Object ID #: KM 98.2.70.1