Shared Ground
Coast Salish history and culture have rarely been the topic of an exhibit here at the Edmonds Historical Museum – until now! With Shared Ground, the museum explores Coast Salish presence in the land that is now known as Edmonds. This exhibit, while on permanent display, will rotate the types of stories being told.
In its first iteration, Shared Ground displays the museum’s collection of Coast Salish baskets. Coast Salish basketry has thousands of years of history. To make a basket, weavers utilized knowledge of the natural world to harvest the required materials. This knowledge, along with weaving techniques, was passed down generationally. The Coast Salish basket-making tradition remains alive and thriving today. Shared Ground also grapples with the legacy of the museum’s Native American collection and outlines the museum’s next steps for this collection.
Shared Ground was made possible by a 2025 Arts and Culture Grant from the State of Washington Tourism Office, a 2025 Diversity in Local History Grant from the Washington State Historical Society, Clayton Moss, Diana White, and the Diversity in Local History intern from the University of Washington Master of Library and Information Science program, Saul Gonzalez. This exhibit comes to life thanks to our partnership with the Burke Museum, Duwamish Longhouse, Indigenous Walking Tour of Edmonds, Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center, and the Samish Indian Nation.
This exhibit is located on the Museum’s ground level.
If you would like to contribute to our ability to grow our Coast Salish content and programs, you can contribute HERE.
