Contents:
(Click on the appropriate link)
Origins of the Amerindians
Variations in Indian languages
Games and entertainment
Social and political organization
American Indian Culture areas
Spirituality
Conclusion
Bibliography
5. The Northwest Pacific Coast
The west coast of North America, from southern Alaska to northern California, is a land of heavy rainfall along the northern Pacific coast that contrasts with the dry and rocky land of the Seed Gatherers’ region. The land suitable for settlement is usually narrow, lying between the sea and the hills. "Northwest Coast culture developed after 3,000 BC, when sea levels stabilized and movements of salmon and sea mammals became regular"1. Well-known tribes living in the area included the Tlingit and the Chinook.
a) Housing
The resources enjoyed by the Northwestern Indians supported a dense population organized into large villages. "The homes themselves were quite large. They were built for more than one family"2. The prevailing type was the rectangular board structure, painted with symbolic designs. Each house contained an extended family managed by a chief and sometimes including slaves as well.
b) Ways of life
The various Northwest tribes had no pressing food problems as they could get a wealth of food from the sea, the rivers, and the forests. They became expert fishermen. The men built weirs and traps to catch huge hauls of salmon. The sea was rich in sea mammals and in fish, including salmon, shellfish, seals and even whales. Whaling was difficult and dangerous though and the leader of the hunt would perform elaborate ceremonials to get help from the spirits. Success brought wealth, honor, and feasting. The whale’s flesh and skin were eaten, the intestines were used as oil containers and Northwestern Indians made rope with the sinew. Hunters added game to the fish supply. In the mountains were deer, elk, mountain goat, and bear the men could hunt. The forests also provided abundant berries, edible roots and tubers similar to potatoes gathered by the women. Berries as well as seaweed were dried and camas bulbs and roots were dug to vary the fish diet. The women also smoked a year's supply of salmon and pressed the oil from the candlefish. The Indians used large amounts of this oil, dipping dried foods into it at meals. The forests were dense and the Northwest tribes made greater use of the trees than did the Eastern Woodland tribes. Their timber was easier to work than the eastern woods (the giant red cedar provided wood which even crude tools could split). They made dugout canoes for river travel, as well as seagoing whaleboats. Other woodworkers steamed and bent planks to make boxes in which the huge amount of winter dried food was stored. The women used the inner bark of the cedar as raw material for garments and baskets. By winter the people had an ample store of food. As a result, they could spend much of their time at festivals, ceremonials, secret-society initiations, wood carving, and other activities. Villagers would stage elaborate costumed religious dramas, and they also hosted people from neighboring villages at potlatches which were festive ceremonial distributions of property that often lasted for days. As they added possessions, Northwestern Indians began to honor wealth and family prestige and the greatest honor came when a man gave away his possessions at a potlatches. Prominent families erected totem-pole monuments to call attention to their achievements. The men were skillful wood-carvers. The designs on the poles were carved to represent human and animal faces rather than to look exactly like them. These animals were their mythical ancestors who gave them power in war, hunting or whaling. In the summer, the children and men wore little clothing or none at all. The Northwest people tattooed their skins and deformed their heads to look "pretty". The top of a baby’s cradleboard was attached so that it pressed a pad of cedar bark against the baby’s forehead, causing the head to rise in a peak. This deformed skull was the sign of a freeman. Slaves were not permitted to flatten their children’s heads. Among the Northwest tribes, powerful hereditary chiefs or headmen controlled and distributed hunting and fishing rights. They kept war captives and other persons as slaves. Trade was important, so strings of shells served as money in some tribes.
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1 Encyclopaedia Encarta - Native Americans http://encarta.msn.com/find/concise.asp?mod=1&ti=761570777&page=4#s22
2 Northwest Culture http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/northwest.html
