people of the northwest coast by: gurbinder, dylan, and william
TRANSCRIPT
Habitat
• The region is mild and wet, in many places there is more than 254 cm of rain.
• Warm temperatures and plentiful rain help lush rainforests grow.
• Red cedars, yellow cedars, spruce trees, reach towering heights in these forests.
• Region stretches 3219 km along the Pacific Ocean from southern Alaska to Northern California.
• The region is a narrow strip of land less than 161 km wide.
• The Northwest Coast Region includes hundreds of islands.
Subsistence
• The ocean and the region’s rivers and forests provide the native people with all the food and natural resources.
• The waters are full with shellfish, whales, seals, sea lions, sea otters, and many other types of food.
• The forest offers food such as berries and roots, and nuts, as well as wood and bark.
• There is land surrounding the village where they fished, hunted, and collected natural resources.
Homes
• The people of the Northwest Coast live in hundreds of villages.
• The homes are built out of cedar.• Large houses are shared by many people.• Some villages have only one house, but
most have a dozen houses.• The largest villages have about 40 houses.• All the houses face the ocean.
Tools and Weapons
•They sharpen beaver tooth and use it as a dagger.
•They make combs out of whale bones.
•They make spears out of cedar, usually 15 feet long to hunt sturgeon.
Religious or spiritual customs
• People from different villages gather for celebrations, trading with another, and sometimes fight wars.
• People believe that powerful sprits live in the ocean, forests, and the air.
• People believe all of their belongings is due to the generosity of the sprits.
• Most ceremonies are held in winter when the sprits are closer to the people.
Religious or spiritual customs
• One important ceremony is the potlatch.
• The potlatch is a gift giving ceremony.
• People where ceremonial clothing like robes that have clan crests on them.
Leadership and GOVERNMENT
• Leaders dress in robes and ceremonial hats.
• All the clan property and resources are controlled by the chief.
• You can become a chief if your ancestors were the chiefs before you.
Cultural artifacts
• The People of the Northwest Coast are known for their totem poles.
• The People of the Northwest Coast also have lots of masks.
Social organization and kinship
• Children are born into their mothers’ clan.
• Members of the same clan can’t marry each other.
• The children of slaves become slaves also.
Bibliography
• Kalman, Bobby. Nations of the Northwest Coast, Ontario: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2004.
• Coast Salish (online) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_Salish