Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa – The Teachings of Mutton
Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa interview segment
Produced by Trevor Marc Hughes
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On March 9, upon arrival on Protection Island, Richard Mackie and I were picked up by Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa from the small ferry terminal in the most prominent of the island’s modes of transportation: the golf cart. She had even prepared us lunch. Such wonderful hospitality. She is a close neighbour to author couple Robert D. Turner & Nancy J. Turner, as well as author Craig Taylor.
Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa is a co-author, along with many Coast Salish people who added illustrations, writing, and oral history to do with the Coast Salish woolly dog Mutton. The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Woolly Dog is the result, and it has been a very successful book, selling well for weeks at BC bookstores.
Ahead of the interview, Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa let us know that since its May 2025 release, The Teachings of Mutton had been on the BC Bestseller List for over twenty weeks. When I asked why she thought it had sold so well, she says “it covers a lot of ground. It tells the story of one particular dog. But I have a dozen co-authors who are Coast Salish people and they contributed illustrations, oral history, writings, memories about the Coast Salish woolly dog.” She had just returned from a presentation given at the Alberni Valley Museum, and has also spoken at the Museum of Vancouver and the Museum of Anthropology on the subject of The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Woolly Dog.
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Trevor Marc Hughes was a freelance arts reporter at CBC Radio from 1997 to 2007. In and around that time he worked as a researcher and associate producer on documentary and current affairs programs that aired on Knowledge Network, The Discovery Channel, and Discovery Health, and were produced by Transatlantic Films, the UK’s oldest independent film production company. His own documentary projects include The Young Hustler, a film he produced and directed, about his grandfather’s days operating a Fraser River tugboat during The Great Depression. He has recently uploaded his interviews with Nancy J. Turner, Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho, Catherine Clement, Graeme Menzies, Henry Yu, and Yasuko Thanh.
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The British Columbia Review
Interim Editors, 2023-26: Trevor Marc Hughes (non-fiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction)
Publisher: Richard Mackie
Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an on-line book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.
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