Introduction to the Cultures of North American Aboriginal Peoples

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Introduction to the Cultures ofNorth American
Aboriginal Peoples

• The Northwest Coast

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Regional CharacteristicsThe Northwest Coast

• Narrow coastal band, including offshore islands,
  that stretches from southeastern Alaska to
  southern Oregon/northern California
• Interior limit set by Canadian Rockies and
  Cascade Mountains
• Marked by deep valleys running east-to-west
  creating in effect islands

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Climate

• Mild temperatures and high rainfall
• At lower elevations rainfall in excess of 1000 mm
  p.a.
• At higher elevations, snowfall amounts average
  4.1 m
• At lower elevations average temperatures remain
  above zero
• Latitude/Longitude 49.1 N 123.06 W
• Avg. Annual Temperature (C) 9.8
• Annual Temp. Range (C) 16
• Total Annual Precip. (mm) 1048
• Summer Precip. (mm) 277
• Winter Precip. (mm) 771

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Flora

• Temperate rainforest
• Coniferous trees
• Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
• Redwood (Sequoia sempevirins)
• Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
• Spruce
• Yellow cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis)
• Not a cedar but members of the False-cypress
  family
• Red cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
• Hemlock (Tsuga sp.)
• A member of the pine family

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Red Cedar Bark
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Vegetational Zones of North America
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Northwest Coast fauna (1)

• Herbivores
• Moose (Alces alces) los
• Elk (wapiti) (Cervus elaphus) jelen
• White-tail (Virginia) deer (Odocoileus
  virginianus)
• Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
• Dall (mountain) sheep (Ovis dalli)
• Rabbits/hares
• Beaver (Castor canidensis) bobr kanadský

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Northwest Coast Fauna (2)

• Carnivores
• Bears
• Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis)
• Brown bear (Ursus arctos)
• American black bear (Ursus americanus) baribal
• Canines
• Wolf
• Coyote (Canis latrans)
• Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)
• Felines
• Mountain lion (Puma concolor)
• Lynx (Lynx canadensis)
• Mustelids
• Wolverine (Gulo gulo) rosomák
• Otter, marten, mink, weasel
• Sea otter
• Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
• Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

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Northwest Coast Fauna (3)

• Whales
• Killer whale (Orcinus orca)
• Gray whale
• Sea otters
• Salmon
• Chum, pink, coho, chinook, sockeye

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Diversity and density of resources

• Disparity between marine and terrestrial
  resources
• Terrestrial
• Low diversity, lower density
• Marine
• Higher diversity, higher density

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Key characteristics

• Salmon
• Food Storage
• Woodworking
• Sedentary villages
• Property ownership and wealth accumulation
• Status and rank
• Potlatch

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Division of labor

• Women
• raising children
• tending the fire
• Cooking
• making clothing and weaving baskets
• collected shellfish
• dried wild fruits and vegetables as well as
  plants used for dyes and medicines.
• Processing and drying fish for winter meals was a
  major activity
• Women also harvested cedar bark to make mats,
  hats, capes, skirts, and ornaments.
• Men
• Fishing
• Hunting
• Woodworking

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Diet

• Salmon
• Range in size from 2.5 to 55 kg
• Anadromous
• Born in freshwater, migrate to ocean and after
  2-5 years return to spawn and die
• Individual species return at different times of
  year (spring, summer and fall) known as runs
• Other marine resources
• Herring, oulachon, trout, marine mammals,
  shellfish
• Terrestrial resources are much less important
• Cervidae, mountain sheep
• Critical for other items (hides, fur, bones,
  antler
• Berries

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Salmon

• Salmon were fished using
• Hooks
• Baits, lures, sinkers, lines and floats
• Harpoons and spears
• Dip nets
• Fish weirs and traps
• Prime fishing spots were highly prized and
  protected (owned)

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Food storage

• Because of seasonality and regularity of
  resource, storage is critical
• Salmon (and other fish)
• Dried
• Smoked
• Often packed with berries
• Salmon runs while regular will sometimes fail
  meaning that the village must rely on stored food

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Woodworking

• Trees are straight-grained softwoods
• Narrow range of groundstone tools
• axes, adzes, hammers, wedges
• Logs are split into planks

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Woodworking II

• Storage boxes
• Bent wood
• Masks
• Totem poles
• Plank houses
• Canoes

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Haida Totem poles - 1903
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Haida totem pole
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Long houses

• Post and plank construction
• Square to rectangular
• Max. 30 m long, 8 m wide
• Occupied by a matrilineage

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Canoes

• Dugout
• Made from a single log
• Various sizes according to function
• 1-man fishing canoes
• Inshore fishing
• Trading canoes
• Operated on the open ocean
• Crews of up to 20, 20 m. long, 5 tons of cargo

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Miscellaneous items rattle, bowl, hat
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Sedentary villages

• Large villages had upwards of 200 persons
• Seasonal movements to resource procurement sites
• Fishing camps
• Berry gathering camps
• Each village was politically and economically
  independent
• Some degree of economic interdependency between
  neighboring villages

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Property ownership and wealth

• Wealth defines status
• Ownership generally vested in lineage
• Property included
• Land
• Fishing spots, berry picking sites, etc,
• Manufactured items defined as having value
• Coppers
• Each copper had a name, history and specific
  value based on these factors
• Chilkat Blankets
• Made from mountain sheep wool and cedar bark
  fibers
• Woven on simple loom

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Status and Rank

• Social system
• Ranked lineages, clans, etc.
• Wealth
• Manifesting status and rank
• Potlatch
• Ceremonies usually held in winter
• May last a number of days
• Held to mark significant events
• Births, deaths, marriages, accessions to offices
• Involved singing, dancing, feasting, display of
  ritual items such as crests, masks, etc. and
  gift-giving
• These items are usually associated specifically
  with potlatches
• Additionally functioned as a system for the
  redistribution of goods within a region

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Potlatch Regalia