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123-624: The Coast Salish are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast , living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon . They speak one of the Coast Salish languages . The Nuxalk (Bella Coola) nation are usually included in the group, although their language is more closely related to Interior Salish languages . The Coast Salish are

246-505: A Chimakuan -speaking people. Their traditional territory is in the western Olympic Peninsula, around the Quillayute and Hoh Rivers . The Willapa people are a traditionally Athabaskan -speaking people of southwestern Washington. Their territory was between Willapa Bay (named after them) and the prairie lands around the head of the Chehalis and Cowlitz Rivers . A related people, known as

369-462: A total station for mapping the sites as well as the creation of simple test pits to probe for stratigraphy and artifacts. Native groups along the Northwest coast have been using plants for making wood and fiber artifacts for over 10,500 years. Anthropologists are searching for aquifer wet sites that would contain ancient Salish villages. These sites are created by a series of waters running through

492-588: A Feast. Professionals existed for some communities, but music is taught and then rehearsed. For some nations, the tradition was those who made musical errors were punished, usually through shaming. Employing octave singing, but rather than running up and down the scale, it is not uncommon to jump notes and go from bottom to top or top to bottom in a couple of notes. Vocal Rhythmic patterns are often complex and run counter to rigid percussion beats. The tribes would dance in groups in circles. The creation of beautiful and practical objects (for all tribal communities) served as

615-464: A complex hunter-gatherer culture in the temperate rainforest of the Alaska Panhandle and adjoining inland areas of present-day British Columbia. The Haida people ( / ˈ h aɪ d ə / HY -də ) are well known as skilled artisans of wood, metal and design. They have also shown much perseverance and resolve in the area of forest conservation. The vast forests of cedar and spruce where

738-495: A confederation of the Cathlamet, Clatsop, Lower Chinook, Wahkiakum and Willapa Indians, as a tribe, according to its rules established in consultation with other recognized tribes. The tribe had documented continuity of their community over time on the lower Columbia. This recognition was announced during the last months of the administration of President Bill Clinton . Since the 1930s, individual Chinook people have had Allotments on

861-639: A federally recognized sovereign tribe in the late 20th century, as this would provide certain treaty-promised benefits for education and welfare. The Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs rejected their application in 1997. Since the late 20th century, the Chinook Indian Nation has engaged in a continuing effort to secure formal recognition, conducting research and developing documentation to demonstrate its history. They are referred to in government and historic accounts, but treaties signed at Tansy Point in 1851 were not acted upon by Congress through

984-457: A formal ratification process. This inaction caused the Chinook territories defined in the treaties to remain unceded. Nevertheless, these territories were taken by the federal government. If Congress had formally ratified the treaties, a reservation would have been established, which would have meant automatic recognition. In 2001, the U.S. Department of Interior recognized the Chinook Indian Nation,

1107-409: A forum to display wealth within a tribe. In the potlatch ceremony, the chief would give highly elaborate gifts to visiting peoples to establish his power and prestige, and by accepting these gifts the visitors conveyed their approval of the chief. There were also great feasts and displays of conspicuous consumption, such as the burning of articles, or throwing things into the sea, purely as a display of

1230-637: A highly unusual action, revoked the recognition. The Chinook Nation sought Congressional support for recognition by the legislature in 2008 with a Bill Introduced by Brian Baird . The Bill died in Congress. The unrecognized Tchinouk Indians of Oregon trace their Chinook ancestry to two Chinook women who married French Canadians traders from the Hudson's Bay Company prior to 1830. The specific Chinook band these women were from or if they were Lower or Upper Chinook could not be determined. These individuals, settled in

1353-614: A language related to Heiltsuk , Wuikyala or Oowekyala (they are dialects of a language that has no independent name; linguists refer to it as Heiltsuk-Oweekyala). Together with the Heiltsuk and Haisla, they were once incorrectly known as the Northern Kwakiutl because of their language's close relationship with Kwakʼwala . Greatly reduced in numbers today, like other coastal peoples they were master carvers and painters. They had an elaborate ritual and clan system. The focus of their territory

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1476-791: A large, loose grouping of many nations with numerous distinct cultures and languages. Territory claimed by Coast Salish peoples span from the northern limit of the Salish Sea on the inside of Vancouver Island and covers most of southern Vancouver Island, all of the Lower Mainland and most of Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula (except for territories of the Chemakum people). Their traditional territories coincide with modern major metropolitan areas, namely Victoria , Vancouver , and Seattle . The Tillamook or Nehalem around Tillamook, Oregon are

1599-536: A means of transmitting stories, history, wisdom and property from generation to generation. Art provided Indigenous people with a tie to the land by depicting their histories on totem poles the Big (Plank) Houses of the Pacific Northwest coast – the symbols depicted were a constant reminder of their birthplaces, lineages and nations. Due to the abundance of natural resources and the affluence of most Northwest tribes, there

1722-576: A numerous tribe" but instead found "only of three men, three women" as well as the oldest of the men "marked with the small-pox", when referring to the Tlingit people in the North West Coast. Oral traditions of various tribes in the Pacific Northwest also refer to an epidemic of smallpox on the populations. There are many theories to how smallpox arrived in the Pacific Northwest. One theory is that an outbreak in central Mexico in 1779 spread north and infected

1845-652: A particular village site on Baker Bay, or "Fish Eaters". It may also be a word meaning "strong fighters". Some Chinookan peoples are part of several federally recognized Tribes: the Yakama Nation (primarily Wishram ), the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation (primarily Wasco ), and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community . The Chinook Indian Nation, consisting of

1968-519: A pivotal speech in 1967 on what had happened to his people. This riveted audiences at a Canadian Centennial ceremony in Vancouver's Empire Stadium and touched off public awareness and native activism in BC and Canada. By this point, through the 1960s and 1970s, employment in commercial fisheries had greatly declined; employment in logging and lumber mills also declined significantly with automation, outsourcing, and

2091-506: A raven, woodpecker, bear, or seal. Oftentimes members of the community get together to show their powers on the longhouse floor, where the spiritual powers are for the individual alone for each member to share and display various songs. Villages of the Coast Salish typically consisted of northwest coast longhouses made with western red cedar split planks and with an earthen floor . They provided habitation for forty or more people, usually

2214-506: A related extended family. Also used by many groups were pit-houses , known in the Chinook Jargon as kekuli (see quiggly holes ). The villages were typically located near navigable water for easy transportation by dugout canoe . Houses that were part of the same village sometimes stretched for several miles along a river or watercourse. The interior walls of longhouses were typically lined with sleeping platforms. Storage shelves above

2337-593: A series of mysteries featuring a Coast Salish character, Silas Seaweed, from the fictitious "Mohawt Bay Band", who works as an investigator with the Victoria Police Department . Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast At one point, the region had the highest population density of a region inhabited by Indigenous peoples in Canada . The Pacific Northwest Coast at one time had

2460-415: A society marked by social stratification , consisting of a number of distinct social castes of greater or lesser status. Upper castes included shamans , warriors , and successful traders. They composed a minority of the community population compared to common members. Members of the superior castes are said to have practiced social discrimination, limiting contact with commoners and forbidding play between

2583-870: A subsidiary of the HBC , between present-day Olympia and Tacoma, Washington . Contact and trade began accelerating significantly with the southern Coast Salish. Significant social change and change in social structures accelerates with increasing contact. Initiative remained with Native traders until catastrophic population decline. Native traders and Native economy were not particularly interested or dependent upon European trade or tools. Trade goods were primarily luxuries such as trade blankets, ornamentation, guns and ammunition. The HBC monopoly did not condone alcohol, but freebooter traders were under no compunction. Catholic missionaries arrive in Puget Sound around 1839–1840; interest diminished by 1843, and Methodist missionaries were in

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2706-732: Is a First Nations government in northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia , Canada, their main community is the community of Alert Bay in the Queen Charlotte Strait region. There are approximately 225 members of the Daʼnaxdaʼxw Nation. The Nation is a member of the Kwakiutl District Council and, for treaty negotiation purposes, the Winalagalis Treaty Group which includes three other members of

2829-666: Is a list of some, but not all, Coast Salish-speaking tribes and nations located in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. The history of Coast Salish peoples presented here provides an overview from a primarily United States perspective. Coast Salish peoples in British Columbia have had similar economic experience, although their political and treaty experience has been different—occasionally dramatically so. Evidence has been found from c. 3000 BCE of an established settlement at X̱á:ytem (Hatzic Rock) near Mission, British Columbia . Early occupancy of c̓əsnaʔəm ( Marpole Midden )

2952-421: Is a matter of debate. The Coast Salish held slaves as simple property; they were not members of the tribe. The children of slaves were born into slavery. The staple of their diet was typically salmon , supplemented with a rich variety of other seafoods and forage. This was particularly the case for the southern Coast Salish, where the climate of their territories was even more temperate. Bilateral kinship within

3075-601: Is also documentation of the cultivation of great camas, Indian carrot, and Columbia lily. Anthropogenic grasslands were maintained. The south Coast Salish may have had more vegetables and land game than people farther north or among other peoples on the outer coast. Salmon and other fish were staples; see Coast Salish people and salmon . There was kakanee , a freshwater fish in the Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish watersheds. Shellfish were abundant. Butter clams, horse clams , and cockles were dried for trade. Hunting

3198-656: Is derived from the Haisla word x̣àʼisla or x̣àʼisəla , "(those) living at the rivermouth, living downriver". The Heiltsuk ( / ˈ h aɪ l t s ʊ k / HYLE -tsuuk ) are an indigenous Nation of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the island communities of Bella Bella and Klemtu . The Heiltsuk are the descendants of a number of tribal groups who came together in Bella Bella in

3321-768: Is distinguished from the Chinook Jargon , which was partly based upon it, and is often called "Chinook." Close allies of the Nuu-chah-nulth , they are also a canoe people, and pre-European contact, Chinook Jargon arose as a trading language incorporating both Chinookan and Wakashan vocabulary. Recent attempts to keep Chinook Jargon or Chinook Wawa alive are helped by the corpus of songs and stories dictated by Victoria Howard to Melville Jacobs , published by him as Clackamas Chinook Texts. Selections from that corpus were also published as Clackamas Chinook Performance Art. The Chinookan peoples practiced slavery, likely learned from

3444-512: Is evident from c. 2000 BCE – 450 CE, and lasted at least until around the late 1800s, when smallpox and other diseases affected the inhabitants. Other notable early settlements that record has been found of include prominent villages along the Duwamish River estuary dating back to the 6th century CE, which remained continuously inhabited until sometime in the later 18th century. Boulder walls were constructed for defensive and other purposes along

3567-460: Is in the Pacific Northwest on the west coast of Vancouver Island. In pre-contact and early post-contact times, the number of nations was much greater, but as in the rest of the region, smallpox and other consequences of contact resulted in the disappearance of some groups, and the absorption of others into neighbouring groups. They were among the first Pacific peoples north of California to come into contact with Europeans. Competition between Spain and

3690-563: Is now spoken by less than 5% of the population—about 250 people. Today 17 separate tribes make up the Kwakwakaʼwakw, who historically spoke the common language of Kwakʼwala . Some Kwakwakaʼwakw groups are now extinct. Kwakʼwala is a Northern Wakashan language , a grouping shared with Haisla, Heiltsuk and Oowekyala. The Nuu-chah-nulth ( / n uː ˈ tʃ ɑː n ʊ l θ / noo- CHAH -nuulth ; Salishan: [nuːt͡ʃaːnˀuɬ] ) are an Indigenous people in Canada. Their traditional home

3813-525: Is quite different from that of their coastal neighbours, though it contains a large number of Wakashan loan words. They are believed to have been more connected to Interior Salish peoples, before Athabaskan -speaking groups now inland from them spread southwards, cutting the Nuxalk off from their linguistic relatives. The Wuikinuxv , also known as the Owekeeno or Rivers Inlet people (after their location), speak

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3936-473: The Cariboo Gold Rush . As the epidemic spread, police, supported by gunboats, forced thousands of First Nations people living in encampments around Victoria to leave and many returned to their home villages which spread the epidemic. Some consider the decision to force First Nations people to leave their encampments an intentional act of genocide. Mean population decline 1774–1874 was about 66%. Though

4059-659: The Fraser Canyon in the 15th century. Early European contact with Coast Salish peoples dates back to exploration of the Strait of Georgia in 1791 by Juan Carrasco and José María Narváez , as well as brief contact with the Vancouver expedition by the Squamish people in 1792. In 1808, Simon Fraser of the North West Company entered Coast Salish territories via the Fraser Canyon and met various groups until reaching tidewater on

4182-613: The French Prairie region of northwestern Oregon, becoming part of the community of French Canadians and Métis (Mix-Bloods) . There is no evidence that they are a distinct Indian community within French Prairie. The Chinook Indian Nation denied that the Tchinouk had any common history with them or any organizational affiliation. On January 16, 1986, the Bureau of Indian Affairs determined that

4305-594: The Haida , Tongass , and one group of Tsimshian , are also notable. Having gained superiority by earlier access to European guns through the fur trade, these warriors raided the southern Salish tribes for slaves and loot. Their victims organized retaliatory raids several times, attacking the Lekwiltok. The highest-ranking male assumed the role of ceremonial leader but rank could vary and was determined by different standards. Villages were linked through intermarriage among members;

4428-471: The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), led by John Work , travelled the length of the central and south Georgia Strait-Puget Sound. From the 1810s through to the 1850s, Coast Salish groups of Georgia Strait and Puget Sound experienced raiding from northern peoples, particularly the Euclataws and Haida . In 1827, HBC established Fort Langley east of present-day Vancouver, B.C . Whattlekainum, principal chief of

4551-660: The Kwantlen people , moved most of his people from Qiqayt (Brownsville) across the river from what was to become New Westminster to Kanaka Creek , near the Fort, for security and to dominate trade with the Fort. European contact and trade began accelerating significantly, primarily with the Fraser River Salish (Sto:lo). Fort Nisqually and its farm were established in 1833 by the Puget Sound Agricultural Company

4674-516: The Nisqually Flats (Nisqually plains) to harvest them. Salish groups such as Muckleshoot were heavily reliant on seasonal foods that included animals and plants. In January, they would gather along the river banks to catch salmon. By May, Salmonberry sprouts would be eaten with salmon eggs. Men would hunt deer and elk, while women gathered camas and clams from the prairies and beaches. By the summer, steelhead and king salmon appeared in masses along

4797-601: The North Straits Salish -speaking peoples in and around Victoria , the Halkomelem -speaking peoples in and around Vancouver , and the Lushootseed -speaking peoples in and around Seattle . Pre-European contact, the Coast Salish numbered in the tens of thousands, and as such were one of the most populous groups on the northwest coast The Chimakum people were a Chimakuan -speaking people whose traditional territory lay in

4920-842: The Port Madison Reservation was 152 x 12–18 m (500 x 40–60 ft), c. 1850. The gambrel roof was unique to Puget Sound Coast Salish. The Salish later took to constructing rock walls at strategic points near the Fraser River Canyon , along the Fraser River. These Salish Defensive Sites are rock wall features constructed by Coast Salish peoples. One was excavated by Kisha Supernant in 2008 at Yale, British Columbia . The functions of these features may have included defense, fishing platforms, and creation of house terraces. House pits and stone tools have been found in association with certain sites. Methods used include use of

5043-560: The Puget Sound - Georgia Basin and east to the Sahaptin -speaking lands of Chelan, Kittitas and Yakama in what is now Eastern Washington. Similarly in Canada there were ties between the Squamish people and Sto:lo with Interior Salish neighbours, i.e. the Lil'wat / St'at'imc , Nlaka'pamux and Syilx . There was little political organization. No formal political office existed. Warfare for

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5166-481: The Salish Sea in 2010. The Coast Salish cultures differ considerably from those of their northern neighbours. One branch, the Bella Coola, feature a patrilineal, not matrilineal, system. As a whole, the Coast Salish tribes generally have both a matrilineal and patrilineal system. They are also one of the few peoples on the coast whose traditional territories coincide with contemporary major metropolitan areas, namely

5289-563: The Shoshone in 1781, allowing the disease to spread into the lower Columbia River and Strait of Georgia via trade between the Flathead , Nez Perce , Walla Walla , and other various tribes. Spanish expeditions to the Northwest Coast from Mexico in 1774, 1775, and 1779 are also attributed to spreading smallpox to the local tribes in the area, with many documented outbreaks correlating to where

5412-503: The upper and Middle Columbia River (Wimahl) ("Great River") from the river's gorge (near the present town of The Dalles, Oregon ) downstream (west) to the river's mouth, and along adjacent portions of the coasts, from Tillamook Head of present-day Oregon in the south, north to Willapa Bay in southwest Washington . In 1805 the Lewis and Clark Expedition encountered the Chinook Tribe on

5535-536: The 1880s. After legislation amending the Indian Act was passed the previous year, in 1885 the potlatch was banned in Canada; it was banned in the US some years later. This suppression ended in the US in 1934, and in 1951 in Canada. Some potlatching became overt immediately. A resurgence of tribal culture began in the 1960s; national Civil Rights movements engendered civil action for treaty rights. Chief Dan Georges delivered

5658-520: The 19th century. They generally prefer the autonym Heiltsuk . Anthropology labelled them the Bella Bella, which is how they are more widely known. The Nuxalk (pronounced [nuχalk] ), also known as the Bella Coola, are an Indigenous people of the Central Coast , as well as the furthest north of the Coast Salish cultures. Linguists have classified their Salishan language as independent of both Interior and Coast Salish language groups. It

5781-474: The Chinook language and English translation. The " Native Legends of Oregon and Washington Collected " is collection of Chinook legends and stories written and collected by Boas in 1893, it was a collection of different Chinook folklore taken from his time spent with the Chinookan people between the years of 1890 and 1891 during his summer trips to Oregon and Washington. He also wrote the " Chinook Texts ", which

5904-648: The Clatskanie ( / ˈ k l æ t s k ɪ n aɪ / ) or Tlatskani, lived on the south side of the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon . The Chinookan peoples were once one of the most powerful and populous groups of tribes on the southern part of the Northwest Coast. Their territories flank the mouth of the Columbia River and stretch up that river in a narrow band adjacent to that river, as far as Celilo Falls . Their group of dialects are known as Chinookan . It

6027-616: The Clatsop Chinooks were part of the Chinook Indian Nation. The Indian Claims Commission also found in Docket 240, 1962, that the Nehalem people were part of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians . The Chinookan peoples were relatively settled and occupied traditional tribal geographic areas, where they hunted and fished; salmon was a mainstay of their diet. The women also gathered and processed many nuts, seeds, roots and other foods. They had

6150-449: The Fraser's North Arm, where he was attacked and repelled by Musqueam warriors. Throughout the 1810s, coastal fur trade extended further with infrequent shipping. The establishment of Fort Vancouver in 1824 was important as it established a regular site of interaction with Clackamas , Multnomah , and Cascades Chinooks , as well as interior Klickitat , Cowlitz , Kalapuya . Parties from

6273-563: The Haida make their home are on pre-glacial land, which is believed to be almost 14,000 years old. The Haida were widely known for their art and architecture, both of which focused on the creative embellishment of wood. They decorated utilitarian objects with depictions of supernatural and other beings in a highly conventionalized style. Haida communities located in Prince of Wales Island , Alaska and Haida Gwaii , British Columbia (previously referred to as

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6396-483: The Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast, the music varies in function and expression. Though some groups have more cultural differences than the rest (like the Coast Salish and the more northern nations), there remain many similarities. Some instruments used by the Indigenous were hand drums made of animal hides, plank drums, log drums, box drums, along with whistlers, wood clappers, and rattles. A great deal of

6519-723: The Kwakiutl District Council (the Quatsino First Nation , the Gwaʼsala-ʼNakwaxdaʼxw Nations , and the Tlatlasikwala Nation ). The area referred to as the Northwest Coast has a very long history of human occupation, exceptional linguistic diversity, population density and cultural and ceremonial development. Noted by anthropologists for its complexity, there is emerging research that the economies of these people were more complex and intensive than

6642-493: The North Coast of British Columbia, and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island . There are about 10,000 Tsimshian, of whom about 1,300 live in Alaska. Succession in Tsimshian society is matrilineal, and one's place in society was determined by one's clan or phratry (defined as four equal parts). Four main Tsimshian clans form the basic phratry. The Laxsgiik (Eagle Clan) and Ganhada (Raven Clan) form one half. Gispwudwada (Killer Whale Clan) and Laxgibuu (Wolf Clan) form

6765-483: The North Shore of the Columbia River. In 2019, the Chinook Indian Nation purchased ten acres of the 1851 Tansy Point treaty grounds. In the 21st century, a large proportion of Chinook people live in the regions surrounding the towns of Bay Center, Chinook , and Ilwaco in southwest Washington and in Astoria, Oregon . Chinookan-speaking groups include: The Lower Chinookans are the related groups who spoke dialects of Lower Chinook , and who had their villages around

6888-453: The Northwest Coast harvested root crops through a process of digging and tilling. Using a digging stick made from hard wood, First Nations people would work the ground between tree roots and in bulb and rhizome patches, which loosened the compacted soil. Loosened soils made it easier to remove root crops whole and undamaged, and allowed roots, bulbs and rhizomes to grow more freely and abundantly with increased production. Native peoples of

7011-408: The Nuu-chah-nulth as it was more common to the north, and cranial deformation . Those without flattened heads were considered to be beneath or servile to those who had undergone the procedure as infants. One likely reason for the cultural prominence of the Chinookan peoples was their strategic position along the Columbia River , which acted as a massive trade corridor, as well as near Celilo Falls ,

7134-500: The Nuu-chah-nulth. Their territory is concentrated in the southern portion of Vancouver Island. The Makah are a Southern Wakashan people and are closely related to the Nuu-chah-nulth . They are also noted as whalers . Their territory is around the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula . The Coast Salish are the largest of the southern groups. They are a loose grouping of many tribes with numerous distinct cultures and languages. Territory claimed by Coast Salish peoples spans from

7257-412: The Pacific Northwest also used to eat a variety of fruit and berries. A favorite food was the salmonberry Rubus spectabilis , which derives its name from the fact that it was traditionally eaten with salmon and salmon roe. Blackberries Rubus , and evergreen huckleberries Vaccinium ovatum (which was eaten fresh or dried and made into cakes) were also popular. Red huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium

7380-399: The Pacific Northwest by European and American migrants. In current times the political and current context of life for these indigenous peoples varies, especially considering their relationship to Canada and the United States. In Canada Indigenous peoples are one of the fastest growing groups with a young and increasing population. Significant issues persist as a result of colonial laws and

7503-430: The Queen Charlotte Islands) also share a common border with other Indigenous peoples, such as the Tlingit and the Tsimshian. The Haida were also famous for their long-distance raiding and slaving, going often to California for trading. The Tsimshian ( / ˈ s ɪ m ʃ i ə n / SIM -shee-ən ), translated as "People Inside the Skeena River ," are indigenous people who live around Terrace and Prince Rupert on

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7626-535: The Salish peoples together are less numerous than the Cherokee or Navajo , the numbers shown below represent a small fraction of the group. Neighboring peoples, whether villages or adjacent tribes, were related by marriage, feasting, ceremonies, and common or shared territory. Ties were especially strong within the same waterway or watershed. There existed no breaks throughout the south Coast Salish culture area and beyond. There were no formal political institutions. External relations were extensive throughout most of

7749-493: The Skagit people is the most important system being defined as a carefully knit, and sacred bond within the society. When both adult siblings die, their children would be brought under the protection of surviving brothers and sisters, out of fear of mistreatment by stepparents. The Salish Sea region of the Northwest coast has produced ancient pieces of art appearing by 4500 BP that feature various Salish styles recognizable in more recent historical works. A seated human feature bowl

7872-450: The Skeena River", were known with the Nisga'a as Interior Tsimshian. They speak a closely related language to Nisga'a, though both are related to Coast Tsimshian . This is the English term for Tsimshian spoken on the coast. Although inland, their culture is part of the Northwest Coast culture area, and they share many common characteristics, including the clan system, an advanced art style, and war canoes. They share an historic alliance with

7995-563: The Spanish made landfall. Another theory describes the outbreak originating in the Kamchatka Peninsula in 1769 and spreading via Russian explorers to South Alaska and the Aleutians , thus through the Alaska panhandle and down the Pacific Coast. There were a number of later smallpox epidemics, such as the devastating 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic . Due to the native population having no prior exposure to Old World diseases, local tribes may have lost as much as 90% of their population. This depopulation enabled an easier colonization of

8118-426: The Tchinouk Indians of Oregon do not meet the requirements necessary to be a federally recognized tribe. The unrecognized Clatsop-Nehalem Confederate Tribes was formed in 2000. The Clatsop-Nehalem have approximately 130 members and claim to have Chinookan and Salish-speaking Tillamook (Nehalem) ancestry. This is contested by the Chinook Indian Nation. The Indian Claims Commission , Docket 234, found, in 1957, that

8241-474: The Tillamook language was a Coast Salish language, it was somewhat divergent from its more northerly cousins; likewise, the Tillamook culture was substantially different from that of other Coast Salish cultures, apparently influenced by its southern neighbors. They, and their southern neighbors, were less reliant on salmon runs and more reliant on fish trapping in estuaries, hunting, and shellfish gathering. The Daʼnaxdaʼxw Nation , or Da'naxda'xw/Awaetlatla Nation

8364-443: The United Kingdom over control of Nootka Sound led to a bitter international dispute around 1790, which was settled when Spain agreed to abandon its claim of exclusivity to the North Pacific coast, and to pay damages for British ships seized during the dispute. The Nuu-chah-nulth speak a Southern Wakashan language and are closely related to the Makah and Ditidaht. The Ditidaht are a Southern Wakashan speaking people related to

8487-415: The accompaniment of any person or drum. Usually slow in tempo and accompanied by a drum. Principal function of music in this area is spiritual; music honors the Earth, Creator, Ancestors, all aspects of the supernatural world. Sacred songs are not often shared with the wider world. Women and men, families own their own songs as property which can be inherited, sold or given as a gift to a prestigious guest at

8610-421: The appearance of their free-born by carefully shaping the heads of their babies, binding them with cradle boards just long enough to produce a steep sloping forehead. Unlike hunter-gatherer societies widespread in North America, but similar to other Pacific Northwest coastal cultures, Coast Salish society was complex, hierarchical and oriented toward property and status. Slavery was practiced, although its extent

8733-660: The archaeological deposits creating an environment with no oxygen that preserves wood and fiber The wet sites would typically contain perishable artifacts that were used as wedges, fishhooks, basketry, cordage, and nets. The Coast Salish use over 100 species of plants. Salal is the source of multiple tinctures and teas, and its berries are often eaten during feasts. They use the leaves of Carex to make baskets and twine. Coast Salish peoples' had complex land management practices linked to ecosystem health and resilience. Forest gardens on Canada's northwest coast included crabapple, hazelnut, cranberry, wild plum, and wild cherry species. There

8856-586: The area from 1840 to 1842 but had no success. The Stevens Treaties were negotiated in 1854–55, but many tribes had reservations and did not participate; others dropped out of treaty negotiations. (See, for example, Treaty of Point Elliott#Native Americans and # Non-signatory tribes .) From 1850 to 1854, the Douglas Treaties were signed on Vancouver Island between various Coast Salish peoples around Victoria and Nanaimo, and also with two Kwakwaka'wakw groups on northern Vancouver Island. The Muckleshoot Reservation

8979-565: The area of Port Townsend . Beset by warfare from surrounding Salish peoples, their last major presence in the region was eradicated by the Suquamish under Chief Seattle in the mid-19th century. Some survivors were absorbed by neighbouring Salish peoples, while some moved to join the Quileute on the southeast side of the Olympic Peninsula. The Quileute ( / ˈ k w ɪ l i uː t / ) are

9102-553: The association of a round head with servility. The Chinook were known colloquially by early white explorers in the region as "Flathead Indians". Living near the coast of the Pacific Ocean , the Chinook were skilled elk hunters and fishermen. The most popular fish was salmon . Owing partly to their settled living patterns, the Chinook and other coastal tribes had relatively little conflict over land, as they did not migrate through each other's territories and they had rich resources in

9225-424: The body, an inner and outer soul, its life force, and its ghost. They believed that an individual becomes ill when their soul is removed from their body and this is followed by death when the soul reaches the underworld. It is the job of the shaman to travel to the underworld to save the individual by recovering the soul while it is travelling between the two worlds. The shamans believed that once an individual's body

9348-513: The children of the different social groups. Some Chinookan peoples practiced slavery , a practice borrowed from the northernmost tribes of the Pacific Northwest . They took slaves as captives in warfare, and used them to practice thievery on behalf of their masters. The latter refrained from such practices as unworthy of high status. The elite of some tribes had the practice of head binding , flattening their children's forehead and top of

9471-566: The coast. " the Indian history of British Columbia... began at least a hundred centuries before the Province itself was born...." Wilson Duff On the northwest coast of North America, the mild climate and abundant natural resources made possible the rise of a complex Aboriginal culture. The people who lived in what are today British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon were able to obtain a good living without much effort. They had time and energy to devote to

9594-734: The decline in available resources through the 1980s. The Boldt Decision , passed in 1974 upheld by the Supreme Court in 1979 was, based on the Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855 and restored fisheries rights to federally recognized Puget Sound tribes. Since the 1970s, many federally recognized tribes have developed some economic autonomy with (initially strongly contested) tax-free tobacco retail, development of casino gambling, fisheries and stewardship of fisheries. Extant tribes not federally recognized continue ongoing legal proceedings and cultural development toward recognition. In British Columbia, 1970 marks

9717-455: The development of fine arts and crafts and to religious and social ceremonies. The indigenous populations were devastated by epidemics of infectious diseases, especially smallpox , brought in by European explorers and traders. Prior to European colonization, various reports from European explorers describe the tribes in the area bearing signs of smallpox . Nathaniel Portlock , a British ship's captain, described as having "expected to have seen

9840-469: The diet of the Northwest Native Americans was the bulb Camassia , a member of the asparagus family. Indigenous peoples engaged in the active management and cultivation of camassia by clearing land, by tilling and weeding, and by planting bulbs. Camas plots were harvested by individuals or kin-groups, who were recognized as a particular plot's cultivators or stewards. Indigenous peoples of

9963-581: The disease travelling overland from Mexico by intertribal transmission. Among losses due to diseases, and a series of earlier epidemics that had wiped out many peoples entirely, e.g. the Snokomish in 1850, a smallpox epidemic broke out among the Northwest tribes in 1862, killing roughly half the affected native populations, in some cases up to 90% or more. The smallpox epidemic of 1862 started when an infected miner from San Francisco stopped in Victoria on his way to

10086-432: The dried or smoked salmon over the winter, so the first fresh fish caught in the spring was welcomed with great ceremony. Hunting, both on land and sea, was also an important source of food. At sea this involved hunting whales, sea lion, porpoise, seal and sea otter, while deer, moose and elk were pursued on land. The plentiful supply of all these animals meant that the tribes became prosperous. The most important plant in

10209-683: The environment around them in order to encourage greater production of a resource for sustained harvesting. The Pacific salmon in particular played a central role in the diet and culture of the Northwest, so much so that the Native Nations of the region define themselves as the Salmon People. The salmon were caught with hook and line or small nets, and then pierced with cedar skewers and roasted or smoked over open pit fires. Other methods of catching them could also be used however, such as traps, baskets, spears and lures. The tribe would have to rely on

10332-451: The five westernmost tribes of Chinookan peoples, Lower Chinook, Clatsop , Willapa, Wahkiakum, and Kathlamet is currently (2024) working to restore federal recognition . The Chinook Nation gained Federal Recognition on January 3, 2001 from the Department of Interior under President Bill Clinton. After President George W. Bush was elected, his political appointees reviewed the case and, in

10455-420: The great wealth of the chief. Groups of dancers put on elaborate dances and ceremonies. These dancers were members of secret "dancing societies". Watching these performances was considered an honor. Potlatches were held for several reasons: the confirmation of a new chief; coming of age; tattooing or piercing ceremonies; initiation into a secret society; marriages; the funeral of a chief; and battle victory. Among

10578-639: The importance of salmon to their cultures, while others differed. Prior to contact, and for a brief time after colonization, some of these groups regularly conducted war against each other through raids and attacks. Through warfare they gathered captives for slavery . The Eyak people reside in the Copper River Delta north of the Alaska Panhandle . The vast majority currently live near the Alaskan city of Cordova . The Tlingit ( / ˈ k l ɪ ŋ k ɪ t / KLINK -it , / ˈ t l ɪ ŋ ɡ ɪ t / ;

10701-477: The instruments were used mostly in the potlatch , but also carried over in to other festivities throughout the year. The songs employed are used with dancing, although it is also for celebration, which at times may not be accompanied by dancing. Most singing is community based. There are some solo parts, often the lead singer would begin in the first line of each round of a song, but not long solos. For some ceremonies, solo songs would be used by men and women without

10824-487: The journey to the underworld as a two-day adventure. The individual must walk along a trail passing through bushes and a lake to reach a valley that is divided by a river where they will reside. Salish beliefs about the afterlife very closely resemble the past life they lived, and they often assign themselves to jobs to keep busy, hunt for animals and game, and live with their families. Coastal Salish people believe that through dances, masks, or ceremonies they express themselve

10947-417: The lands of the living and the dead were complex and mutable. Vision quest journeys involving other states of consciousness were varied and widely practised. The Duwamish had a soul recovery and journey ceremony. The Quileute Salish people near Port Townsend had their own beliefs about where souls of all living things go. The shamans of these people believed everything had five components to its spirit;

11070-434: The latter is considered inaccurate) are one of the furthest north indigenous nations in the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their autonym is Lingít [ɬɪŋkɪ́t] , meaning "Human being". The Russian name for them, Koloshi , was derived from an Aleut term for the labret ; and the related German name, Koulischen , may be encountered in older historical literature. The Tlingit are a matrilineal society. They developed

11193-496: The longest continuously inhabited site in the Americas, used as a fishing site and trading hub for 15,000 years by a wide range of indigenous peoples. The Tillamook or Nehalem peoples were a Coast Salishan -speaking group of tribes living roughly between Tillamook Head and Cape Meares on the northern Oregon Coast . The term 'Tillamook' itself is in fact an exonym, from the neighbouring Chinook-speaking Kathlamet people. Although

11316-408: The lower Columbia. The term "Chinook" also has a wider meaning in reference to the Chinook Jargon , which is based on Chinookan languages, in part, and so the term "Chinookan" was coined by linguists to distinguish the older language from its offspring, Chinuk Wawa . There are several theories about where the name "Chinook" came from. Some say it is a Chehalis word Tsinúk for the inhabitants of and

11439-446: The most densely populated areas of indigenous people ever recorded in Canada. The land and waters provided rich natural resources through cedar and salmon, and highly structured cultures developed from relatively dense populations. Within the Pacific Northwest, many different nations developed, each with their own distinct history, culture, and society. Some cultures in this region were very similar and share certain elements, such as

11562-643: The mouth of the Columbia River and along the coast: The Kathlamet/Downstreamers grouping includes several small village groups which all spoke the Kathlamet language: This grouping refers to a dense stretch of Upper Chinook -speaking villages between the mouth of the Lewis River to Government Island : The Clackamas were a Kiksht -speaking group that had one village along the Clackamas River : The "Upstreamers" group refers to village groups and villages in

11685-492: The natural environment. In the manner of numerous settled tribes, the Chinook resided in longhouses . More than fifty people, related through extended kinship, often resided in one longhouse. Their longhouses were made of planks made from red cedar trees. The houses were about 20–60 feet wide and 50–150 feet long. In 1888, Franz Boas published " The Journal of American Folk-Lore " a journal discussing American Folklore, here he describes some "Chinook songs" and offers them in both

11808-541: The neighboring Wetʼsuwetʼen , a subgroup of the Dakelh (or Carrier people). Together they waged a battle in the courts against British Columbia known as Delgamuukw v British Columbia , which had to do with land rights. The Haisla (also Xaʼislakʼala, X̄aʼislakʼala, X̌àʼislakʼala, X̣aʼislakʼala) are an indigenous nation living at Kitamaat in the North Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The name Haisla

11931-536: The northern end of the Strait of Georgia , along the east side of Vancouver Island, covering most of southern Vancouver Island, all of the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast , all of Puget Sound except (formerly) for the Chimakum territory near Port Townsend , and all of the Olympic Peninsula except that of the Quileute , related to the now-extinct Chemakum. The Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound were officially united as

12054-492: The now infamous Canadian Indian residential school system . Many of the most repressive elements of the Indian Act (federal legislation governing First Nations) were removed in 1951, and the right for First Nations to vote was granted in 1960. The 1951 amendment to the Indian Act lifted the potlatch ban , though the ban was never fully effective - it had pushed traditional culture underground. Since 1951 ceremonial practices and

12177-466: The other half. Prior to European contact, marriage in Tsimshian society could not take place within a half-group, for example between a Wolf and a Killer Whale. It was considered to be incest even if there was no blood relationship. Marriages were only arranged between people from clans in different halves: for example, between a Killer Whale and a Raven or Eagle. The Gitxsan or Gitksan, meaning "people of

12300-471: The platforms held baskets, tools, clothing, and other items. Firewood was stored below the platforms. Mattresses and cushions were constructed from woven reed mats and animals skins. Food was hung to dry from the ceiling. The larger houses included partitions to separate families, as well as interior fires with roof slats that functioned as chimneys. The wealthy built extraordinarily large longhouses. The Suquamish Oleman House ( Old Man House ) at what became

12423-563: The potlatch have re-emerged widely along the coast. One development in recent times is the revival of ocean-going cedar canoes. Beginning in the late 1980s with early Haida and Heiltsuk canoes, the revival spread quickly after the Paddle to Seattle in 1989 and the 1993 'Qatuwas canoe festival in Bella Bella . Many other journeys to different places along the coast have occurred; these voyages have come to be known as Tribal Canoe Journeys . Both

12546-415: The previous administration. Efforts by Brian Baird , D-Wash. from Washington's 3rd congressional district, to gain passage of legislation in 2011 to achieve recognition of the tribe were not successful. In his decision on a lawsuit filed in late 2017, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald B. Leighton ruled recognition could only be granted from Congress and other branches of government, but largely sided with

12669-525: The rivers, and berries were abundant in the forests. This harvesting cycle is referred to as the Seasonal Rounds. Legends of Vancouver by Canadian author E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) is a collection of Coast Salish "as told-to" narratives, stemming from the author's relationship to Squamish Chief Joe Capilano . It first appeared in 1911, now available online from UPenn Digital Library . Victoria, British Columbia author Stanley Evans has written

12792-442: The scarcity of the Chinookan people at the time. The book was mainly written for trading purposes and Gibbs collected the majority of his translation from the traders themselves. The Chinookan peoples have long had a community on the lower Columbia River. These lower Columbia Chinook tribes and bands re-organized in the 20th century, setting up an elected form of government and reviving tribal culture. They first sought recognition as

12915-560: The sea and the land provided important sources of food and raw materials to Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest Coast, and many of these resources needed to be managed to ensure continual harvest. Historians and ethnographers provide evidence of cultivation practices and environment management strategies that have been used by First Nations peoples for centuries along the Northwest Coast. Practices like digging and tilling, pruning, controlled burning , fertilizing, streamscaping and habitat creation allowed Indigenous groups to intentionally manage

13038-425: The skull as a mark of social status. They bound the infant's head under pressure between boards when the infant was about 3 months old and continued until the child was about one year of age. This custom was a means of marking social hierarchy; flat-headed community members had a rank above those with round heads. Those with flattened skulls refused to enslave other persons who were similarly marked, thereby reinforcing

13161-577: The southern Coast Salish was primarily defensive, with occasional raiding into territory where there were no relatives. No institutions existed for mobilizing or maintaining a standing force. The common enemies of all the Coast Salish for most of the first half of the 19th century were the Lekwiltok aka Southern Kwakiutl, commonly known in historical writings as the Euclataws or Yucultas. Regular raids by northern tribes, particularly warriors of an alliance among

13284-607: The southernmost of the Coast Salish peoples. Coast Salish cultures differ considerably from those of their northern neighbours. They have a patrilineal and matrilineal kinship system, with inheritance and descent passed through the male and female line. According to a 2013 estimate, the population of Coast Salish numbers at least 56,590 people, made of 28,406 Status Indians registered to Coast Salish bands in British Columbia, and 28,284 enrolled members of federally recognized tribes of Coast Salish in Washington State. Below

13407-427: The spiritual powers that they are given. Spirit powers define a community's success through leadership, bravery, healing, or artistry. Spirit dancing ceremonies are common gatherings in the winter for members of the community to show their spirit powers through song, or dance. The powers they acquired were sought after individually after going through trials of isolation where their powers related to spirit animals such as

13530-413: The start of organized resistance to the "white paper" tabled by Jean Chrétien , then a cabinet minister in the government of Pierre Trudeau , which called for assimilation. In the wake of that, new terms such as Sto:lo , Shishalh and Snuneymuxw began to replace older-era names conferred by anthropologists, linguists and governments. The first smallpox epidemic to hit the region was in the 1680s, with

13653-538: The timber-rich Quinault Reservation in Grays Harbor County, Washington . The Quinault appealed recognition of the Chinook in August 2001, and the matter was taken up by the new administration. After President George W. Bush was elected, his new political appointees reviewed the Chinook materials. In 2002, in a highly unusual action, they revoked the recognition of the Chinook and of two other tribes also approved by

13776-590: The tribe; Leighton denied seven of eight claims by the Interior Department to dismiss the case, including a challenge to a 2015 rule that bars tribes from seeking recognition again. The Chinook Indian Nation's offices are in Bay Center, Washington . The tribe holds an Annual Winter Gathering at the plankhouse in Ridgefield, Washington . It also holds an Annual First Salmon Ceremony at Chinook Point (Fort Columbia) on

13899-450: The wife usually went to live at the husband's village, in a patrilocal pattern. Society was divided into upper class, lower class and slaves, all largely hereditary. Nobility was based on genealogy, intertribal kinship, wise use of resources, and possession of esoteric knowledge about the workings of spirits and the world — making an effective marriage of class, secular, religious, and economic power. Many Coast Salish mothers altered

14022-494: Was Owikeno Lake , a freshwater fjord above a short stretch of river at the head of Rivers Inlet. The Kwakwakaʼwakw are an indigenous people, numbering about 5,500, who live in British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the mainland. The autonym they prefer is Kwakwakaʼwakw . Their Indigenous language, part of the Wakashan languages family, is Kwakʼwala . The name Kwakwakaʼwakw means "speakers of Kwakʼwala". The language

14145-457: Was both eaten and used as fish bait on account of its resemblance to salmon eggs. The Oregon grape Mahonia nervosa was sometimes eaten, mixed with sweeter berries to counteract its sour flavor. A potlatch is a highly complex event where people gather to commemorate a specific event (such as the raising of a totem pole or the appointment/election of a new chief). These potlatches would usually be held in competition with one another, providing

14268-440: Was dead it was able to connect with its soul and shade in the underworld. It is believed that the spirits are able to come back amongst the living and cause family members to die of sickness and join them in the afterlife. Living individuals were terrified of the intentions of spirits. who only appear at night, prompting Salish people to travel only during the day and stay close to others for protection. Coastal Salish beliefs describe

14391-635: Was established after the Puget Sound War of 1855–56. Through the 1850s and 1860s, traditional resources became less and less available. Sawmill work and employment selling natural resources began; Native men worked as loggers, in the mills, and as commercial fishers. Women sold basketry and shellfish. Through the 1870s, agricultural work in hop yards of the east Sound river valley increased, including cultivation of mushrooms. The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic killed many, and commercial fisheries employment began to decline significantly through

14514-561: Was plenty of leisure time to create art. Many works of art served practical purposes, such as clothing, tools, weapons of war and hunting, transportation, cooking, and shelter; but others were purely aesthetic. Chinookan peoples Chinookan peoples include several groups of Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest in the United States who speak the Chinookan languages . Since at least 4000 BCE Chinookan peoples have resided along

14637-413: Was previously assumed. Coast Salish peoples' had complex land management practices linked to ecosystem health and resilience. Forest gardens on Canada's northwest coast included crabapple, hazelnut, cranberry, wild plum, and wild cherry species. Many groups have First Generation Stories - family stories that tell of the origin of the group, and often of humans themselves arising in specific locations along

14760-561: Was published in 1894. In this reference book, Boas includes various, myths, beliefs, customs, tales, and historical tales, as told by the Chinookan people themselves. George Gibbs was another popular anthropologist of his time. He collected the " Alphabetical Vocabulary of the Chinook Language ". Gibbs was assisted by Robert Shortess and Soloman H. Smith of Oregon and A. C. Anderson of Victoria, Vancouver Island. The many words were collected and scattered from various different tribes given

14883-665: Was required to enhance their status as elite born, or through practical skills, and ritual knowledge. An individual could not buy status or power, but wealth could be used to enhance them. Wealth was not meant to be hidden. It has been publicly displayed through ceremony. Games often involved gambling on a sleight-of-hand game known as slahal , as well as athletic contests. Games that are similar to modern day lacrosse , rugby and forms of martial arts also existed. Belief in guardian spirits and shapeshifting or transformation between human and animal spirits were widely shared in many forms. The relations of soul or souls, and conceptions of

15006-662: Was specialized; professions were probably sea hunters, land hunters, fowlers. Water fowl were captured on moonless nights using strategic flares. The managed grasslands not only provided game habitat, but vegetable sprouts, roots, bulbs, berries, and nuts were foraged from them as well as found wild. The most important were probably bracken and camas ; wapato especially for the Duwamish . Many, many varieties of berries were foraged; some were harvested with comblike devices not reportedly used elsewhere. Acorns were relished but were not widely available. Regional tribes went in autumn to

15129-818: Was used in a female puberty ritual in Secwépemc territory; it was believed to aid women in giving birth. Salish-made bowls in the Northwest have different artistic designs and features. Numerous bowls have basic designs with animal features on the surface. Similar bowls will have more decorations including a head, body, wings, and limbs. A seated figure bowl is more complex in design, depicting humans being intertwined with animals. For thousands of years, Northwest coast Salish people demonstrated valuing material possessions. They believe that material wealth included land, food resources, household items, and adornments. Material wealth not only improved one's life but it enhanced other qualities such as those needed to acquire high status. Wealth

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