Chief Janice George

Chief Janice George (Chepximiya Siyam), from Squamish Nation, Canada, is a master weaver and textile artist who learned to weave from Coast Salish weaver Susan Pavel and Subiyay-t Bruce Miller of Skokomish in 2003. George has integrated Squamish teachings into her work from her late Grandmother Kwitelut-t Lena Jacobs and other Squamish ancestors. George states, “In this short time of my weaving life, a few of my mentors have left this earth. Their breath is carried on in the teachings I pass on. I feel and see the pride that comes from reclaiming our inheritance from our elders and ancestors when we weave and when we wear our beloved weavings. We are taught spiritual protection is part of what we are wearing and feel the love that is put in each hand movement it takes to make a robe.” George co-authored the book Salish Blankets, Robes of Protection and Transformation, Symbols of Wealth with Willard Joseph and Leslie H. Tepper. For the last twelve years, the artist has been teaching her textile skills across Salish speaking territory. She attended Capilano University, British Columbia, the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, and interned at the Canadian Museum of History, Quebec.