Peace Weavers: Uniting the Salish Coast Through Cross-Cultural Marriages - Paperback

by Candace Wellman (Author)

Throughout the mid-1800s, outsiders, including many Euro-Americans, arrived in what is now northwest Washington. As they interacted with Samish, Lummi, S'Klallam, Sto: lo, and other groups, some of the men sought relationships with young local women. Hoping to establish mutually beneficial ties, Coast and Interior Salish families arranged strategic cross-cultural marriages. Some pairs became lifelong partners while other unions were short. These were crucial alliances that played a critical role in regional settlement and spared Puget Sound's upper corner from the tragic conflicts other regions experienced.

Accounts of the men, who often held public positions--army officer, Territorial Supreme Court justice, school superintendent, sheriff--exist in a variety of records. Some, like the nephew of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, were from prominent eastern families. Yet across the West, the contributions of their native wives remain unacknowledged.

The women's lives were marked by hardships and heartbreaks common for the time, but the four profiled--Caroline Davis Kavanaugh, Mary Fitzhugh Lear Phillips, Clara Tennant Selhameten, and Nellie Carr Lane--exhibited exceptional endurance, strength, and adaptability. Far from helpless victims, they influenced their husbands and controlled their homes. Remembered as loving mothers and good neighbors, they ran farms, nursed and supported family, served as midwives, and operated businesses. They visited relatives and attended ancestral gatherings, often with their children. Each woman's story is uniquely hers, but together they and other intermarried women helped found Puget Sound communities and left lasting legacies. They were peace weavers.

Author Candace Wellman hopes to shatter stereotypes surrounding these relationships. Numerous collaborators across the United States and Canada--descendants, local historians, academics, and more--graciously participated in her seventeen-year effort.

Front Jacket

Strategic cross-cultural marriages between Coast and Interior Salish families and pioneer men played a crucial role in mid-1800s regional settlement and spared Puget Sound's upper corner from tragic conflicts. Accounts of the husbands exist in a variety of records, but the native wives' contributions remained unacknowledged. Combining primary and secondary sources, genealogy, and family memories, author Candace Wellman illuminates this hidden history and shatters stereotypes surrounding these relationships. The four women she profiles exhibited exceptional endurance, strength, and adaptability. They ran successful farms and businesses and acted as cultural interpreters and mediators. Although each story is unique, collectively they and other intermarried individuals helped found Puget Sound communities and left a lasting legacy. They were peace weavers.

"Wellman writes with a depth of detail and compassion that will make this an instant classic in the genre and a reference touchstone for decades to come."--Mike Vouri, author, "The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay"

"Wellman digs deep and brings the women's considerable accomplishments to the fore. Meticulous research supports each element of these engaging stories."--Llyn De Danaan, author, "Katie Gale: A Coast Salish Woman's Life on Oyster Bay"

"Wellman brings us a set of stories that have been misunderstood, ignored, or covered up by generations of Pacific Northwest historians."--Coll Thrush, author, "Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place"

"The . . . research is wide-ranging and by every measure exhaustive. [Peace Weavers is] a detective story of sorts, weaving together fragments of the past."Jean Barman, Co-editor, "Indigenous Women and Feminism: Politics, Activism, Culture"