Native Americans
of the Northwest Coast

Introduction
The Pacific Northwest is an area rich with culture that has been inhabited for thousands of years. It is a fertile land teeming with wildlife, fish, berries, nuts, and other fruits and vegetables. It was also an idyllic place to live for the ancient Native Americans who traveled across the Bering Sea land bridge to inhabit areas from Alaska down to California.

Prehistory

Beginnings
Most accounts suggest that people traveled over the Bering Sea land bridge from Siberia about 12,000 years ago with some suggesting it happened even earlier, up to 15,000 years ago. Due to the conditions during which the migration happened, the amount of preserved evidence is scarce. During this time, there was massive glaciation from the northern half of the United States up through the arctic regions. By 11,000 years ago, the ice sheets began to melt and glaciation started to recede. The climate began to warm, the seas and oceans rose between 300 and 500 feet, depending on the source, and the Pacific Northwest began to flourish in terms of flora and fauna.
During these “early years,” humans who had crossed the Bering Sea land bridge and had moved into the Alaskan wilderness would have encountered mammoths, bison, elk and other large herd animals as well as smaller animals, fish, and some birds. These people would have used a tool kit made up of flake-blade scrapers, blades, and points called the Nenana Complex (Crabtree, Campana).
As the climate became warmer and resources became more plentiful, humans found their way south to what is now the Pacific Northwest region of America. Along with the move came changes in diet and tool technology.

Fast Forward
As we move into the Early Archaic period, we see a vast difference from the early tool technology of the nomadic people who made their way to Alaska. Large animals such as mammoths were no longer available and as a result, the focus of hunting turned towards relatively smaller mammals such as deer and antelope. Fishing technologies, especially, begin to appear including the spear and wooden hooks. The atlatl is still being used for hunting, however, by this time, there is a great diversity in styles among tool kits. We begin to see evidence of mass-hunting called “drives” where hunters would scare animals such as rabbits into a location where they could be herded and killed efficiently. We also see a greater dependence on plant materials for survival. Camas in particular was consumed by these early people and continued to be until modern times. Plants were also being used to weave textiles, mats, nets, and clothing. Food that could be preserved by drying was stored in storage pits. This shows the beginnings of a more sedentary lifestyle.

Middle Archaic
During the Middle Archaic period, we see the first evidence of housing and a sedentary lifestyle. There is very little evidence that has been preserved in this wet, rainy atmosphere, so there is a possibility that housing occurred earlier than previously thought. Along with this increase in sedentism, we see even more of a dependence on plant materials such as acorns, camas, and bitterroot. Much of the daily life is very similar to the Early Archaic except we see an even greater diversity between regional styles of tools, hunting weapons, and artwork. By now, there is a distinct difference between the NW and California styles, but as we will see, the diversification becomes even greater in the Late Archaic.

Late Archaic
During this period, regional styles become clear in both hunting and artistic applications. The bow and arrow replace the atlatl as a primary hunting weapon (Gilson). An amazing development during this time is the use of “pyroculture,” which is the use of fire for agricultural and environmental manipulation (Gilson). This is presented as having been done by humans in the area, although I couldn’t find any direct evidence of this in any publication. The use of fire to burn an overabundance of trees seems to serve several purposes: An increase in open grasslands favored by both elk and deer as well as several plant species widely used by Native Americans during this time (camas and tarweed) and an increase in oak growth which produces an increase in acorns (also used extensively).

The trade network was securely in place along the Columbia River gorge by this time. As a result of this increase in trade, a common language called “Chinook Jargon” was developed to aid in communication between traders.

Daily Life

Food
In ancient times as it is today, food was in abundance in the Pacific Northwest. It is an old tall tale that you could literally “walk on the backs of the salmon” across a river. Even though that was probably an exaggeration, there was no doubt a heavy supply of these fish that are a defining species in the Pacific Northwest. Not only did Native Americans have access to salmon, but research has also revealed remains of such fish as cod, herring, sturgeon, flounder, and several other species. Fish was caught with wooden hooks and may have been caught along with crabs using nets or traps as well, although any evidence for these has been lost due to the fragility of the material. Shellfish middens have been found in several locations indicating an abundant usage of these for food. Other marine mammals that were killed and butchers for food or oil were sea lions, seals, and otters. Birds were also used for food. Local fruits and vegetables ranged from huckleberries to camas roots, which were probably the most utilized root crop, to nuts, other berries, and roots (Gilsen). Food was certainly not a difficult thing to come by in the fertile Pacific Northwest region.

Even though food sources were so abundant, the Native American people still used preservative measures to store food. Berries were dried and made into cakes for later consumption, fish and meats were dried and possibly smoked as is still done today. Nuts would have kept well as would roots provided they were kept cool. Spaces within the housing structure were set aside for food preparation and storage.

Housing
The type of house found most often in the Puget Sound region, and elsewhere, is the longhouse. This house was constructed of the trunks of the cedars plentiful in this area of the country. In some cases, an entire tribe may build the longhouse. When this happened, the chief of the tribe would assign living quarters based on familial ties. Families were grouped together with other blood or marriage relatives and several families would live in a single longhouse of up to 100 feet in length by 25 feet in width. Each family had their own space with room for doing daily chores and activities such as sleeping, preparing food, cooking, eating, carving and constructing hunting tools, and weaving mats or clothing. Sometimes, an individual with enough wealth and “power” (they did not see power in the same way we do) was able to build a longhouse of his own. In this case, his own immediate and extended family would live under the same roof, each with their own space. When the owner of the house died, the house was either passed on to another non-relative family or was burned due to spiritual beliefs.

Culture
In nearly every culture on the planet and certainly within most major religions, there exists a group of stories the intent of which is to teach children and remind adults of moral obligations, lessons, or other important teachings. For the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest, one of these stories is the common creation myth that is seen in many cultures around the world. This creation myth was passed down generation after generation via oral tradition and still survives today. The main focus in this story is The Changer, a being that equates roughly to the Christian God. The main difference here is that humans existed in a chaotic and dark world instead of actually being created by The Changer. Native American people generally view “time” as having begun when The Changer altered their world for the better.

“He gave the men bows and arrows to hunt Deer and Elk for food. He showed them how to make nets and cast them into their rivers to catch the Salmon People. He told them to put the bones of the Salmon People back into the water so they could be reborn and come back again and again to feed the people.” (McCormick)

The Native American people have a rich culture that includes folk tales like this one, artwork, textiles, pottery, basketry, and totems in some regions such as Alaska. An especially elegant part of their culture was their language. Salish, or Lushootseed to Native Americans who speak it, is the language common to the Puget Sound region. Although many regional dialects exist, they all have roots common to the main language.

Cedar
Cedar trees played a very large role in the lives of the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. Houses, gear, clothing, mats for eating and sleeping, canoes, and artwork were all made from some part of the cedar tree. This was in part made possible by the structure of the cedar itself. Towering trees were sometimes as high as 175 feet and due to the thick forests which blocked sunlight below, there were no lower branches. This provided an outstanding clean trunk that the Native Americans could use in many ways. Amazingly, canoes were made by splitting the cedar trunks in half and “coring out” the tree itself to provide a shell. These shells would then be filled with water that was heated with hot stones in order to soften the wood so it could then be shaped into the traditional canoe shape. These canoes were often as long as 50 feet and could carry as many as 20 men and 10,000lbs of cargo (Donn).

Clothing was made using the pounded, softened bark of the cedar trees which could then be rubbed with fats or grease to make them waterproof (Donn). Woven mats were considered essential products that women would make from cedar bark or cattail fibers. These mats were used as mattresses, linens, tablecloths, and just about anything else you might use a large fiber mat for. Women would make piles of these mats as they could not be washed and when one was worn out or dirtied, it would be thrown out. Some theorists believe the worth of a woman was weighted by how many mats she had on hand at any given time (Donn).

Art
Art was an important part of the Native American life and culture. Artwork included carvings, basketry, masks, and textiles made from pounded and softened cedar bark, grasses, reeds, cattail fibers, dog hair, and other animal hairs. Among the most well-known of all artworks is the “totem pole,” which was carved from the massive cedar trees. Although not technically correct, the word “totem” comes from the Ojibwan word “ototeman.” A more correct word would be the Haidan word Gyáa’aang, the translation of which means “man stands up straight” (Wright). The carvings on these Northwest Poles are representative of supernatural beings or ancestors whom the ancestors of the carvers had encountered in the past. These beings and important people have thus earned the right to be forever remembered via the intricate carvings on totem poles in the form of crests and symbolic animals representing the person being honored.

The most common form of totem pole created by the Northwest Coast Salish was the large single ancestor or spirit helper monument. These were usually either carved on interior poles inside the home or as grave markers. Other tribes further north carved multiple-being totems representing a history of ancestors or beings. The people commissioned to carve these poles were the best artisans in the tribe or local area and only the wealthiest of the noble tribal members could afford to hire someone to carve these monuments. Later in the Northwest Coast Indians’ history, multiple-being type poles became more popular as influence from tribes in Alaska and British Columbia became more pronounced. Because of an increase in wealth due to multiple factors such as increased trade and decreased population size, more and more families were able to commission artisans to carve totem poles. Even the raising of the totem pole was an important part of the process of preserving the memory of their ancestors and spiritual beings. This ceremony was called the potlatch.

Conclusion
The people of the Northwest Coast were heavily influenced by their surroundings. Much of the art they created reflected the wildlife found in the region in which they lived. While life during ancient times was never easy, these people had it better than many other Native Americans would have. Mainly, this was because of the abundance of food and resource materials available to them. Salmon and other fish, berries, nuts, several kinds of wildlife including mammoths during the “early years,” roots, and seeds were available during much of the year and those that weren’t were preserved by drying. While early on, these people used tool technologies brought over from Siberia and their ancestors, they eventually developed their own tool kits and fishing practices. Even their folklore seems to have been not just influenced by the Northwest Coast, but different in feel from that of their ancient ancestors. The Changer story is classic Native American as are the other characters and presentation of the story.

It is difficult to say much about the very ancient people who came here 12,000-15,000 years ago. The cold, wet climate and mass flooding that occurred after the ice age started to recede has done away with most of the artifacts that would have been left behind from that time period. It is possible these people came earlier than previously thought or that their tool technology, especially fishing tools, was more sophisticated than we think it was. An interesting note is how much their culture differed from that of other, more “classic,” Native American peoples from the South or the Midwestern plains. Why did these people build longhouses instead of the traditional teepees and wigwams? It could have simply been because of the abundance of logging materials as well as the climate and the need for better protection from the elements. In any case, the culture and diversity of these ancient peoples was amazing and although numbers have decreased since contact with Europeans, much of their heritage carries on in modern culture, art, and folklore.

Bibliography
Campana, Douglas V.; Crabtree, Pam J. Archaeology and Prehistory. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2001.
Donn, Don. Pacific Northwest Coastal Indian Life. 24 July 2002. http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/NWIndianlife.html
Gilsen, Dr. Leland. Oregon Archaeology: Prehistory. 21 June 2002. 23 July 2002. http://www.ncn.com/~gilsen/
McCormick, Julie. The Native American Era. The Sun Link. 27 Dec 1999. 26 July 2002. http://www.thesunlink.com/news/99december/daily/1226a1a.html
Primitive Art: Indians of the Northwest Coast. Serial Design. 27 July 2002. http://www.serial-design.com/artists/primitive_art.htm
Watson, Kenneth Greg. Native Americans of Puget Sound -- A Snapshot History of the First People and Their Cultures. HistoryLink.org. 28 June 1999. 19 July 2002.
http://www.historylink.org/output.CFM?file_ID=1506
Wright, Robin K. Totem Poles: Heraldic Columns of the Northwest Coast. University of Washington Libraries. 05 Jan 2001. 27 July 2002. http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/wright/wright.html

By Lissa
Copyright 2002