Native American culture areas: The Pacific Northwest

[Nikos]

CULTURE AREAS
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Before I post the article, here is a little description of what a "culture area" is and why Native Americans are grouped as such.

I have created a numbered and colored map to show all of the North American culture Areas.
1.) Northeast Woodlands
2.)Southeast
3.) Great Plains
4. Southwest
5.) Great Basin
6.) Plateau
7.) California
8.) Sub-Arctic
9.) Northwest Coast
10.) Arctic
A culture area is an area where tribes which share certain features based on language, geography, rituals and diet are grouped.
Many different tribes inhabit each culture region with their own local customs, but all the tribes in a particular culture area share a way of life, similar languages and similar culture. Native American tribes are grouped into culture areas to make studying them easier as there are over 500 Native American tribes. In my next series of articles, I will be covering different Native American culture areas, starting with the North West coast tomorrow. A new article will be posted every month if I receive positive feed back. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I will enjoy writing them. Until then, stay tuned!
EDIT:
I will be focusing on a single tribe in each cultural area for simplicity and ease of research. This tribe will be a typical example of the culture area.

[Nikos]

Native Americans of the Northwest Coast

"Now just one thing more remained, the box that held the daylight, and Raven cried for that. His eyes turned around and showed different colors, and the people began thinking that he must be something other than an ordinary baby. But it always happens that a grandfather loves his grandchild just as he does his own daughter, so the grandfather said, "Untie the last thing and give it to him." His grandfather felt very sad when he gave this to him. When the child had this in his hands, he uttered the raven cry, "Gâ," and flew out with it through the smoke hole. Then the person from whom he had stolen it said, "That old manuring raven has gotten all of my things."
Tlingit origin myth
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Geography and Climate

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The geography of the Pacific Northwest directly impacted the lives of the Native Peoples who settled there. It is a region of diverse contrasts, from the mountains of the Cascade range, to the rocky shores of Oregon and British Columbia. The climate of the NW coast is a temperate maritime climate with mild summers and wet winters. Snow is a rarity except for the mountains where many feet of snow may fall every year. The Northwest coast is one of only 3 regions on earth where temperate rainforests may be found. Like their tropical counterparts, temperate rainforests receive exorbitant amounts of precipitation (150 inches (380 cm) per year) and are home to a rich variety of plant and animal life. The temperate rainforests of the Northwest coast are also home to the tallest trees in the world, the giant redwoods which can reach heights of up to 115.55 m (379.1 ft). The plentiful supply of timber allowed the people who settled here to build their famous totems, masks and large boats which they used to fish.
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Tribal profile: The Tlingit

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Religion and rituals
Like many tribal societies, the Tlingit held the animistic belief that everything in the world had a spirit, was alive. The Tlingit view of the earth was that of a flat stretch of land with the sky as a dome above it. They believed that spirits could be found anywhere, on the sun and moon, in the stars (whose lights they thought showed distant villages) and in the ocean. In the Tlingit worldview, everything was done by a spirit and it's helpers, from giving birth to lighting a fire, all acts were caused by spirits and their helpers. Even the spirits of ancestors were honored and represented by the beautiful totems and totem poles created by the Tlingit. Totem poles show the spirit's of dead ancestors and are put in front of houses to protect them from bad spirits and to watch over the family. The larger and more ornate the pole, the wealthier the family. The chief usually had the largest totem poles.
The religious leaders of the Tlingit and the other Northwest tribes were shamans. The shamans gained their strength from powerful spirits, who the Shamans would control through their ornately carved masks.

A mask was carved to represent the spirit (or spirits) which the Shaman controlled. In this example, it is a bird spirit mask. Notice the beak and birdlike eyes which give this mask it's power. Some masks were carved to represent two or more spirits by placing different characteristics of the spirit around different areas of the mask or combining two representations together like in this example.

Shamans never combed or cut their hair, and wore distinctive symbols of their authority. These included a whetstone, which the Shaman would use to scratch his head or other body part when in concentration, and a bone necklace. When a Shaman died, his spirit was believed to have entered the body of a male youth in the tribe, usually a nephew. Nephews who wanted the job would gather around their dead uncle's body and go into long hypnotic trances, the one who remained longest in the trance would usually be named the new Shaman. Afterward, the youth would enter into the forest and await a spiritual vision. After seeing his vision and demonstrating that he had the powers of a shaman, his badges of office were finally given to him. Tlingit rituals included "medicine bundles" made from eagle claws, animal's tongues, cedar bark and grass which were lit during ceremonies. The people would inhale and bathe in the smoke to attract spirits, cure disease and cleanse themselves. The medicine bundles would also be used during birth and burial where charms and fetishes would be placed with the dead body.
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Society

Unlike many Native Americans in North America, the Tlingit and other NW coast tribes had an aristocracy and practiced land ownership. In most villages, the land was owned by the Kwaan (clan or village) and distributed by the kwaan leaders to the descendants (traced through the mother) of the original owners. The kwaan was further divided into moieties which were represented by an animal. Some moieties were the wolf, bear, sea otter and eagle. The leader of the kwaan was the wealthiest man in the village, made wealthy by the amount of salmon and other food stuffs his family owned. The chief would live in the largest house in the village and was the leader in council and war. Uncommon among aristocracies around the world however, was the potlatch. When the Chief had accumulated enough wealth, he would throw a large elaborate ceremony and party called a potlatch. The whole kwaan would gather to the chiefs house for dancing, stories, religious ceremonies and most importantly the giving away and eating of food. Potlatches would sometimes last for weeks or even months according to the Chief's wealth. Even today, Tlingit and NW tribe's still throw Potlatches, although money is given away rather then food. After the Potlatch, the Chief would begin accumulating wealth again to throw another. Upon the Chief's death, the new Chief would throw a Potlatch in his honor. Potlaches were a great way for the Tlingit and NW tribes to save up food for the winter and assured no one would go hungry. Ironically, the more the Chief gave away at his Potlatch, the more prestigious he became. If a Chief really wanted to gain prestige, he would invite Chiefs from neighboring kwaans to come to his Potlatch. The Tlingit did not have a nuclear family structure, this was difficult because oftentimes each spouse was from a different moiety. Instead, they were divided into households. A household included the eldest male(known as the keeper of the house), his brothers and male cousins from his mother's side, and his female cousin's(through the mother) sons. All were related by ancestry through one woman. Incest was not uncommon and it was seen as prestigious in the upper classes if a son married his father's sister, and vice versa for daughters and uncles. As said before, a persons moiety was determined through the mother.
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Daily Life

The reason the Tlingit and other NW tribes were able to settle in one area and create such social rituals was because of the abundance of food in the NW coast, chiefly ,salmon. Salmon was the most important source of food and wealth in Tlingit society. If a household had many boats and could bring in lots of salmon, it was a wealthy and prestigious household. When caught, salmon was either eaten right away or smoked to be saved for later. Smoked salmon could last for many months and was the chief food during the inclement winter months.In fact, when Europeans first reached the NW coast, they took smoked salmon with them and it served them well on their journeys. Besides salmon, the Tlingit also ate shellfish, deer, herring and other small fish. Almost unique among other NW coast tribes, the Tlingit do not practice whale hunting, probably due to the large moiety of the Killer whale. For men, life was hard and laborious. Canoes had to be built from trees which had to be cut down and hollowed out by a slow process of burning and carving. Fishing trips were hazardous and didn't always result in success. In event of a feud or conflict, the men were expected to fight for their kwaan and moiety. Women gathered shellfish along the beaches and took care of the household while the men were gone. Children were looked after by the women until their coming of age at 12. Male children would be taught to hunt and fish by their fathers and uncles (who played a large part in the governing of a household) and female children would be taught to make cloths, cook, and take care of the home. Tlingit art is among the most beautiful Native American art we have. Due to their settled nature, the Tlingit and other NW tribes were able to concentrate on aesthetic pursuits. Most Tlingit art is religious in nature and shows spirits. The spirits of the Raven, killer whale and ancestor's moieties were common themes as well as the spirit of a shaman's mask. Even the outside of houses and canoes would be decorated with depictions of spirits or scenes from Tlingit mythology.
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Sources
This Land was Theirs, eighth edition-Wendall H. Oswalt

http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/feature...s/tlingit.html

http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/nw/tmt/index.htm

[Nikos]

Article posted! Please post feed back and let me know if you would like to see more!

[Sphere]

The region you call the South East should really be located in the Oklahoma area. South Eastern tribes like the Choctaw and Cherokee were relocated there. There are a few remaining tribes that avoided the relocation and stayed in the Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi area, but the bulk are in and around Oklahoma.

[Nikos]

The region you call the South East should really be located in the Oklahoma area. South Eastern tribes like the Choctaw and Cherokee were relocated there. There are a few remaining tribes that avoided the relocation and stayed in the Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi area, but the bulk are in and around Oklahoma.

These are their traditional areas where they had their traditional way of life. It's not where they live currently.

[Nikos]

NO ONE liked my article? Oh well, at least I enjoyed writing it which is all that matters anyway.

[Wilder]

NO ONE liked my article? Oh well, at least I enjoyed writing it which is all that matters anyway.

wut? Huh? OH! good posting. I am from the pacific NW, and my mom actually works with natives, so I have more Indians for uncles then you could shake a salmon at.

Speaking of which I know how to BBQ salmon the old Indian way, and it is by far the best fish you will ever eat. good work, I hope to see more anthropology stuff here, some folks could really benefit from it. + rep.

[Nikos]

wut? Huh? OH! good posting. I am from the pacific NW, and my mom actually works with natives, so I have more Indians for uncles then you could shake a salmon at.

Speaking of which I know how to BBQ salmon the old Indian way, and it is by far the best fish you will ever eat. good work, I hope to see more anthropology stuff here, some folks could really benefit from it. + rep.

Thanks man I wish I could taste authentic pacific NW NAtive American salmon, but I live in NJ

[Gungalley]

Good article. Where did u learn all these?

[Nikos]

Good article. Where did u learn all these?

"Indians of North America: A study of the indigenous peoples of North America" Just finished the course at Uni!

[Trey]

Thanks man I wish I could taste authentic pacific NW NAtive American salmon, but I live in NJ

Sucks dude.
Anyway when I was in grade school I had to build a miniature dugout canoe-if I find it I'll post pics along with the process that went into making it.

[Phier]

1. Northeast Woodlands.

Native art.



Native Dwelling



Note the authentic artificial waterfall signifying their bond with nature.


Food Gathering.



A rare shot of a native hunting ground, where they have set traps for their prey.

(Sorry Nikkos' I couldn't resist )

[Nikos]

(Sorry Nikkos' I couldn't resist )

Thanks! I'm sure they'll be useful if I ever do the NE woodlands!

[Maximus Macro]

this is really interesting can you tell more about other tribes?

[Nikos]

this is really interesting can you tell more about other tribes?

If you mean in the NW coast area, then no I'm done with it. But if you mean in other culture areas then we shall see next month.

[Nikos]

Poll added so that you (my audience) can choose what culture area next month's article will focus on.

[Pallantides]

Poll added so that you (my audience) can choose what culture area next month's article will focus on.

I voted Arctic!

[Nikos]

Looks like Sub Arctic is in the lead. I'm surprised, I thought Plains or Southwest would be in the lead, but I like the Sub-Arctic so it works out.

[Nikos]

BUMP
Need more votes!

[Last Roman]

Voted Great Plains. I'm especially interested in hearing about the tribes that lived in and around Minnesota (which is a Dakota word IRRC)