Northwest Coast Indians

The richest native americans know as the Northwest Coast Indians are believed to have begun living on the northwest coast of North America over 10,000 years ago. This area includes what we know as Alaska, Washington State, Oregon, California, and British Columbia, Canada. This stretch of land has the ocean on one side and the mountians on the other side. Some of the tribes that make up the Northwest Coast Indians are the Bella Coola, Haida, Nootka, and Tlingit.
Living along the coast, there was so much fish available for them to eat. They enjoyed different types of fish such as salmon, halibut and cod. They also ate oysters and clams. Occasionally they would eat meat such as deer, bear, and mountain goat, but the seafood was the main source
Women would wear cedar bark skirts and men would wear a loincloth that would cover their front and backside. A Loincloth looked similar to a skirt but with no sides. Sometimes they would not wear any clothes at all. They even went barefoot in winter months. When it rained, they would wear capes made out of deerskin or cedar bark to help repel the water. Although, clothes from a cedar tree doesn’t sound very comfortable, they were actually very soft. The inside of a cedar tree could be beaten until it was soft. The women would then use the beaten wood it to make clothes and blankets. Hats made of cedar root were worn when it rained and were also used for sun protection. Fur robes or blankets were worn in cold weather. Jewelry was made out of bear claws, beaver teeth, sea lion whiskers and clam shells and was mainly worn by the wealthy or a
They were able to live in permanent houses. These houses were called Plankhouses. A Plankhouse was long and wide and made from cedar wood. The Indians used beaver teeth and stone axes to split the wood. They used wooden pegs like we would use nails to keep their house together. There were no windows in the house, so they would use candles made from dried fish and a cedar wick for lighting. There were only two openings in a Plankhouse. One was used to enter and exit the house and the other was on the roof to let the smoke from the fire pit out and to let fresh air inside. Multiple families lived in the house together, but they were usually related to one another. Each individual family had their own area inside that was divided by woven mats for privacy. When the owner of a Plankhouse died, the family would either move out or they would burn the house down so the spirit of the dead would leave the home and not worry about the