Coastal Indians of Washington
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The following article is about the coastal regions of Washington and includes other Northwest tribes. Major tribes comprised of the Bella Coola, Haida, Kwakiutls, Makah, Nez Perce, Nisqualli, Nootka, Quinault, Puyallup, Salish, S'Klallam, Snohomish,Spokane, Shuswap, Swinomish, Tlingit, and the Tsimshian. These Indians lived close to present-day Alaska along the Pacific Ocean through the coast of Northern California. [1] The land was rugged, with various small islands, deep inlets, rivers and streams that cross the land, and narrow beaches, where mountains rose to shore in many places. The area was also subjugated to spruce, cedar, and fir forests, which supplied an incessant amount of wood. By the 1750s, over 100, 000 Indians settled in this area because it was the richest place for natural resources in North America. [1]
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[edit] Protohistoric Life
The Tulalip, Swinomish, Lummi and Skagit tribes were known to be most rich. They lived in the Puget Sound area of Washington. The reason why these tribes were “so rich” was not because they were ornamented with gold or built gold statues, but it was their abundant food and their safe, secure shelter. [2]
The Puget Sound Indian supposedly, by cognition could tell that there was so much salmon in the water, that they could pass the water by walking on their backs. Their environment was very heterotrophic, meaning there was natural food resources preserved. [2]Clams were thick on beaches. Three types of berries were most familiar were blackberries, raspberries, and salmonberries. Then, there were also nuts. In the waters, they were a various salmon and other types of fish. In the landscape of the area, and woods contained many deer and elk and other mammals. In addition, cedar trees were landmarks to the region.
Moreover, the wood was used for construction of houses and canoe making to basic tools. Clothing such as blankets, toweling, and shoes came from Softened Cedar bark. Nevertheless, they were virtuoso, acquiring a way to store food by drying it. Once that process was done, they took a vacation over the winter months, while still having a rich lifestyle. [1] [2]
[edit] Early Morning
The day for these early people started with a bath in the river. Then next step was to work, going without a meal for several others. Meanwhile, the women had a handful of errands to do from woving blankets and basket mats, digging from clans, picking berries to pounding the cedar bark to soften it for clothing. Furthermore, they cleaned the family’s quarters in the longhouse. In depth, they would scrub anything they could, replacing anything soiled that could not be scrubbed. Their most important household task was to cook a meal every morning and prepare food for the evening. [2]
The men hunted and fished, trapping game by traps, bows, and arrows. [2]They would stand on the piers they made and fished with cattail-woven baskets, hanging from the end of long cedar poles. [1]
[edit] Life in the Longhouses
Unlike the Yakima Indians in East Washington, the coastal Indians did not live in tepees.[2] pit houses or tule housesInstead, they stayed in rectangular, outsized longhouses built on thick cedar planks, henceforth they were also known as plank houses. In addition, these tribes cut down and split cedar trees by using stone axes and beaver teeth.
These longhouses were colossal--about 100 feet (30 m) long and 25 feet (7.6 m) wide, with low roofs for easy heating. There would only be two apertures: the entrance door and the roof to outflow the smoke. Each longhouse could hold 30 to 40 people. [1]
[edit] Reservations
If the tribe built the longhouse, likewise, the Chief would consign space within the longhouse.[1] [2] Every family would be designated area, an extent (the size of a bran pen) of their own, within the house. Several families lived in one of these long structures. [1][2]Further down, the homes had narrowed roofs. While in the north, sweathouses for men and women were built, in the south only for men. Huge totem poles carved for tree trunks stood afront the houses. [1]These totem poles displayed the names of the heads of the households. When an individual built the house for his family, he could live in it, along with his children and their youths. As each family member grew to adulthood and married, they were given space in the longhouse, within the longhouse. [2]After the owner of the household died, the agreement ended. [2]An ultimatum was the house could be given away to someone outside the family or being burnt to the ground. It was held that if the family remained the spirit of the departed might be disturbed by them or worried by them. The most likewise method to prevent this was to relocate. Whether the space in the house was assigned by the chief, or father of the baby, life was the same in each house.
[edit] Woven Mats
To identify the family’s life in each space, and to give privacy, woven mats were hung from the ceiling. They were also used for cushions to sit in, bath towels, bed sheets, and tablecloths. Mats were made of cedar bark strips or from cattail plant. In the summer, the women gathered materials to make mats and dried them in the sun; in the winter, they hung long pieces on each side, and wove them together with a specialized mat, thoroughly crafted, colorful and attractive. The mats were scrubbed, but had the sturdiness for a scrub. If the mats became dirty, they were replaced by new ones.
Mats were a significant part of daily life, providing privacy, color, and comfort. In fact, they were so special, that women’s housekeeping skills were judged on the amount of stacks of mats she had for whatever situation might come up.[2]
[edit] Table Manners
The people served meals twice a day. The first was made approximately 10 in the morning, of course after the work. The next meal came around sunset. The men sat down first at the mat, before washing their faces and hands twice (drying themselves with the cedar bark towels). Also, before the meal, they would have a long drink from the drinking bucket, for whatever reason, it was not seen as good manners to drink at the table).[2]
After the men were served their meal, the women joined them at the mat. They had talks with each other during other meals. In addition, they brought over families outside their group.
Courses were served on wooden platters that were a foot and a half long, carved from the cedar. Spaces were unfilled to hold various foods, even for a spot to hold out fish oil, for food dunking. They acquired bones or shells for spoons.
[edit] Meals
Each family could have a small fire area, to prepare various meals, in the longhouse, although cook fires in the center were shared. [2]A family did not have to worry about restocking, they could dine, associate with other groups, for weeks, without having any food. [2] Cooking was done cleverly; they used whale, fish, or salmon oil as a daily serving of food. They also broiled some food over low fires. Without doing anything convenient, they prepared food. First, they would heat the rocks. When the rocks were heated, they were carefully lifted with utensils and dropped into a thick wooden cedar box or a thickly woven cattail basket full of water. When the rocks cooled off, they lifted them out and replaced them with the hot rocks. They kept this up until the water boiled.
[edit] Manifestation
The Northwest Coastal Indians seldom wore clothes. [1] For example, on long journeys, they were barefooted. The men wore material made from baskets or fur hats, fiber rain capes and skin robes. They also wore breechclouts. Additionally, men tattooed their arms and hands for measuring dentalium, a shell strung together and used for money. [1]
The women in the Washington Area dressed in fringed cedar-bark or goatskin.[1] Elsewhere, women, were ornamented by fiber string aprons or fore-and-aft skin aprons. Continuing on, the women wore basketry hats, rain capes, sleeveless jackets, and some skin robes. Some women would tattoo their chins. The fiber clothing came from woven strips of bark.[1]
[edit] Recreation
[edit] Furnishings
Their furniture was very basic. In the private area, each family made bunk beds to sleep in. Over the bunks, below the rafters of the longhouse, they created shelves to keep belongings and stores of food. Under the bottom bunk, they dug a hole, at least two feet deep in the earth, to stock up foods.[2]
[edit] Baskets
Baskets, just as Mats, were a valued part of daily life. Some Indians had a family pattern they used for weaving baskets. This also, was a competitive practice for women, usually in the winter. To prepare for weaving in the winter, throughout the summer basket-making materials were collected. They would use grass as an embroidery thread. Particular grasses were gathered because of their strength and colors. Some women hiked into the mountains, a very dangerous thing try, to collect grass to make baskets. Roots and twigs had to be soaked correctly. Secret basket making techniques were laid down from mother to daughter.
After they were made, they were used to store personal belongings on open shelves, to hold food, and for trade. [2]
[edit] Canoes
Fishing was a major source of food. Firm canoes made fishing possible, and became an art. Canoe carvers learned this process from father to son, uncle to nephew. They built huge canoes from cedar trees that were 50 feet (15 m) long and 8 feet (2.4 m) wide. These workboats could hold 20 men and 5 tons of cargo, even fish. They’d also construct smaller canoes for family’s outings.[2]
The process of making a canoe was to cut down a cedar tree first. Next, they had to split the log in half, without breaking it. Then, they had to burn and scrape down the middle, to shape it. Then, they filled the hole they had scraped down the middle with water. They filled the hollow with water and added hot rocks until the water boiled. This softened the cedar so that they could begin to shape and carve a canoe. [2]
[edit] Potlatch
A Potlatch was a historical, unique, planned party. [2] Preparation for a potlatch could take a whole year, or even longer. For any particular potlatch, everyone receives the same present. Indians in ancient Washington State have been noted for their generosity. In ancient times, other tribes visited the rich coastal Indians in the Puget Sound area seeking to trade pelts of fur for dried seaweed for sea salt flavoring, dried fish, dried clams, dried salmon, dried meat. [2] They were welcome on the visit. The Kitsap Peninsula and the Puget Sound area before long became the convention place for all of the tribes in the Pacific Northwest. Each fall, tribes throughout the coast, along with the inland tribe, gather in the Puget Sound area to rejoice a potlatch and prepare to trade. [2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l By the 1750’s more than 100,000 Indians lived in this area because it was richer in natural resources than any other area of North America. Retrieved on 2007-03-08.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u These early people were very clever. They created a way to dry food so that it could be stored safely. Once they could store food, they could relax a bit during the winter months. That gave them time to develop a gracious lifestyle.. Retrieved on 2006-11-23.
