Mat Creaser

Mats were ubiquitous on the west coast and important for the seasonal way of life that the Snuneymuxw and other Coast Salish people lived. In the summer, many groups would leave big houses and move to the ocean's edge to harvest marine resources. Summer shelters and temporary shelters were light, easily portable, and could be as simple as a few mats draped over a framework of poles.

Mats could be doubled over to make them softer for use as mattresses. Mats from people on Vancouver Island were traded to mainland people for mountain goat wool that was not available on Vancouver Island. Mats were made in all different sizes and for an impressive variety of purposes:

blankets

roofs and walls of temporary or summer shelters

room dividers or house partitions in long houses

wall covers for insulation

summer or temporary dwellings

insulation in walls of winter houses

door covers

rugs

mattresses (sometimes mats doubled over to use as mattresses)

carpets and underlay

wind breaks

berry drying

surfaces to cut and dry meat and fish on

window coverings

sitting mats for home

kneeling and sitting pads for canoes

spray mats to protect canoe cargo

lap covers for fishing

raincoats

table cloths

surface for birthing babies

covering for deceased persons and burial boxes

Because life has changed so dramatically for the Snuneymuxw First Nation, mats are not used as they once were. Although many Coast Salish people still make cattail and tule mats, there is currently not a contemporary practice or revival of mat making in the Snuneymuxw community. Today Snuneymuxw people, like others in Nanaimo purchase tarps at outdoor stores if they want to cover canoes or tents. They buy tents instead of constructing temporary dwellings. Most other traditional uses of mats have been replaced with the commercial items everyone else in Canada purchases.