James M. Hundley’s We are Coast Salish is both timely and timeless. It masterfully draws together the historical, political, and spiritual experiences of an Indigenous people whose traditional lands were bisected by the international border. From the days of raiding to migrant labor, to the summer war canoe races and winter dance ceremonies; the transborder experience of the Coast Salish underwent upheaval in the post-9/11 world. Hundley shows how the Coast Salish coped with this new reality by creating new renditions of tradition, such as the annual Canoe Journey, the emergence of a Coast Salish identity, and the transborder reaction to Desautel. This book will stand as an important contribution to Coast Salish studies.

Daniel L. Boxberger, Western Washington University

We Are the Coast Salish is an exhilarating ethnography of Indigenous people whose lives at and across the Canada-USA border have been transformed by the security measures put in place by both countries after 9/11. The Coast Salish canoe journey at the heart of this innovative analysis serves too as a journey of discovery for both the author and his readers. This is a wonderful contribution to the anthropology of environmental, political and cultural borderlands.

Thomas M. Wilson, Binghamton University, State University of New York