The Northwest Coast was densely populated when Europeans first made landfall in the 1700s. It was home to peoples speaking Athabaskan, Tshimshianic, Salishan , and other languages. Well-known tribes included the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwakiutl, Bella Coola, Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka), Coast Salish, and Chinook.
What is the largest Native American tribe in the Pacific Northwest?
The Coast Salish are the largest of the southern groups. They are a loose grouping of many tribes with numerous distinct cultures and languages.
What Native American tribe lived along the northwest coast?
The Northwest Coast Indian peoples, who lived in the Pacific Northwest, can be classified into four units, or “provinces.” The northern province includes speakers of Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian , and the Tsimshian-influenced Haisla (northernmost Heiltsuq or Kwakiutl).
What did the tribes of the Northwest grow?
Salmon was a major source of food, along with other fish such as trout, halibut and herring, followed by acorns, hundreds of different plants, marine mammals (whales, otters, seals), bears, beavers, lynx, deer, and small game like rabbits and hares.
Did indigenous people live in the Northwest Coast?
There are a variety of Indigenous nations living in the Northwest Coast. The Tlingit occupy territories from the northwest tip of British Columbia and the southwest Yukon to south of the Alaska coast. The Haida live on Haida Gwaii, a group of islands off the north coast of British Columbia.
Why do people use totem poles?
Totem poles are monuments created by First Nations of the Pacific Northwest to represent and commemorate ancestry, histories, people, or events . ... Most totem poles display beings, or crest animals, marking a family's lineage and validating the powerful rights and privileges that the family held.
What is the largest Native American tribe in Washington state?
Puyallup – The Puyallup Tribe of Indians has more than 4,000 members and is considered one of the most urban Indian reservations in the U.S.
What were the three major tribes of the Pacific Northwest?
The peoples of the Northwest Coast spoke a number of North American Indian languages. From north to south the following linguistic divisions occurred: Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, northern Kwakiutl, Bella Coola, southern Kwakiutl, Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka), Coast Salish, Quileute-Chimakum, Kwalhioqua, and Chinook .
Why did Native American culture groups develop differently in different parts of North America?
Native American cultures developed largely as a response to environment, climate, geography, and available resources .
Which American Indian culture lived the farthest north?
The popular conception of the Eskimos ? whale hunters dressed in heavy fur clothing and living in dome-shaped ice lodges?is derived from the Eskimos who live farthest north, on the Arctic islands of Canada and along northwestern Greenland.
What was the weather like in the Northwest Coast?
Rainy is the word along the Northwest Coast. The maritime climate means mild temperatures, frequently overcast days, and lots of precipitation. ... In the coastal valleys, summer fog and cool temperatures are common.
What did the people of the Northwest Coast wear?
Kwakwaka'wakw clothes were the cedarbark garments common all over the Northwest Coast: capes and hats for protection from rain, robes for cold weather, and women's aprons. Many garments were decorated with dentalia shells. Colorful nose ornaments were made of abalone shell.
How many tribes are in the Pacific Northwest?
There are 29 federally recognized tribes throughout Washington and they are: Chehalis, Colville, Cowlitz, Hoh, Jamestown S'Klallam, Kalispel, Lower Elwha Klallam, Lummi, Makah, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, Nooksack, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Puyallup, Quileute, Quinault, Samish, Sauk-Suiattle, Shoalwater Bay, Skokomish, ...
What happened to the Northwest Coast Indians?
Much has happened to native peoples and their traditions. The Northwest Coast was decimated by severe measles, smallpox, and other epidemics . Among these dead were the proper claimants to the limited number of renowned name.
What did Northwest Indians believe in?
Historically, Pacific Northwest Indians shared their spiritual beliefs and customs through stories, songs and dances. Their beliefs were based in animism , where the natural world interacts with a supernatural world. In most native cultures, shamans or medicine men served as spiritual intermediaries.
How did the wealthy Indians of the Pacific Northwest show their power?
The clan with the most wealth had the most power. They set great store by wealth, family connections, and slave ownership . They took social climbing to a new level. One of the ways you gained great respect was by giving things away.
