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Mat Creaser

Object: mat creaser with animal design on handle

Use: used to make cattail and tule mats

Era: unknown

Materials: carved wood, likely Bigleaf Maple or Western Redcedar

Size/ Dimensions: height: 8.5 cm (3.3 inches), length: 13.7 cm (5.4 inches), width: 2.3 cm (0.9 inches)

Collection site: Nanaimo, B.C.

Collector: Robert Nichols

Collection Date: 1958

Accession Date: 06/03/1958

Current Location/Museum: Burke Museum, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

Accession Number: 1-2142

The Snuneymuxw, like other Coast Salish, did make mats from Western Redcedar bark, though making tule and cattail mats was more common. It was the construction of these mats that required a mat creaser. The living memory of Elders and those still making mats in other Coast Salish communities has preserved the craft of making tule and cattail mats with mat creasers.