Some time ago, I wrote a review of  Uncommon Threads: Wabanaki Textiles, Clothing, and Costume. The book review is now out in the latest issue of Museum Anthropology Review and is available here.

In short, I really enjoyed this book. Beautifully illustrated, it is a companion to an exhibit launched by the Maine State Museum. Much more than a catalog of the objects in the exhibit, though, the authors provide an examination of the history, art, and culture of the Maritime Peninsula's indigenous population. Bourque and LaBar demonstrate how Wabanaki textiles, broadly defined as everything from fish weirs to beaded moccasins, began as life-sustaining activities, became a source of income, and today exist as an important marker of cultural identity.