Coastal Indians

1. Coastal Indians Let’s learn about the Coastal Indians. Food Tools Transportation Clothing Shelter Customs and Beliefs

2. FOOD      Food was everywhere! Large quantities of seafood including salmon, halibut, cod, flounder, candlefish, herring, seals and whale were found in the rivers, lakes, ocean and bays. The saltwater beaches provided clams, oysters, and mussels throughout the year. Shellfish would be smoked, dried and stored to be used or traded later. Vegetable roots or bulbs such as salmon berry sprouts, camas, bitter roots, and ferns were dug and gathered between early spring and late fall using a digging stick. From summer to late fall, nature provided many different types of berries that were gathered. These berries were dried and stored in baskets. Also nuts and seeds were gathered in the fall. IndiansToolsTransportationClothingShelterCustoms & Beliefs

3. TOOLS Canoes from the trunks of huge cedar and redwood trees were important tools for fishing and transportation. The canoes could hold as many as 60 men. Harpoons made of sticks and bones were used to kill whales. The bones were used for various tools. Smaller harpoons were used for fishing and hunting. Nets were woven out of strips of bark. Bones were used as scraping and cutting tools. Baskets were woven from strips of bark and grass. Bowls and other dishes were carved out of pieces of wood. Natural materials of stone, wood and grass were made into a variety of tools. IndiansFoodTransportationClothingShelterCustoms & Beliefs

4. TRANSPORTATION Forests made travel hard. There were plenty of rivers and streams in this region. Indian villages were always near a stream or river. People from many different tribes traveled these waterways in dugout canoes, most of which were made out of cedar trees. These canoes were very important for hunting, fishing, and traveling. Canoes were made in a variety of shapes and sizes depending upon their purpose. IndiansFoodToolsClothingShelterCustoms & Beliefs

5. CLOTHING In the mild seasons, men wore little clothing. Often they would wear a robe or blanket thrown over their back and fastened across the chest with a string. Women wore fiber skirts that were about knee length. Capes, hats, and skirts were also made of softened shredded cedar bark. They wore a cone shaped hat called a Clatsop hat. Clothing made from cattail rushes were worn for work and in rainy weather. Animal hides were only worn under bark capes in the rainy season because they would become soaked in the rain.   IndiansFoodToolsTransportationShelterCustoms & Beliefs

6. SHELTER Summer homes of Indians living on the coast consisted of temporary lodges constructed out of rushes or bark which was also known as a lean to. Winter homes when the weather was cold and wet for long periods of time, were cedar plank longhouses. IndiansFoodToolsTransportationClothingCustoms & Beliefs

7. CUSTOMS & BELIEFS Girls were ready for marriage at the age of fourteen or fifteen while boys waited until they were sixteen or seventeen. When the marriage celebrations took place, the parents exchanged gifts. Masks representing animals such as bears, lizards, owls, or other animals were worn at dances and celebrations. As well they would decorate themselves with paint and feathers. The shaman, or medicine man, was another important official in the tribe. A shaman could be a man or a woman. Most tribes had more than one chief. One chief would give leadership for the hunting, another might be the war chief, and a third chief might be responsible for the safety of the camp. The Indians believed that the earth was controlled by many gods. Legends, stories passed down from one generation to another, told of how the world was created, the origin of the races, the discovery of fire, the salmon, and the physical features of the country. IndiansFoodToolsTransportationClothingShelter