Pacific Northwest
Geography
• 1500-200 miles long
• Only 100 miles wide
• Rich marine and forest biome
• Redwood and cedars common
• Surprisingly warm coastal water
• Bounded by coast range to the east
Subsistence
• Primarily marine (H&G)
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Halibut
Whale
Salmon
Sturgeon
Eulachon (smelt) aka candlefish
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Otter
Seal
Deer
Bear
Mountain Goat
Other forest animals
• But also…
Technology
• Utilized available woods to the extreme
– Boxes
– Totem Poles
– Plankhouses
– Clothing and Hats
– Masks
– Dugout Canoes
Social Organization
• Not bands as one might expect
• Dense, sedentary population
• Organized at the “Kon”
– Central village and its controlled area
– Could conflict with same “tribe” if they were in a
different Kon
– Violating could lead to war, death, or slavery
– Kon leadership by multiple clan chiefs
– Leadership based on heritage and wealth
– Leads to a ranked society
Social Organization
• Further organized in exogamous clans and moieties
– Matrilineal in the north
– More patrilineal in the south
– Moieties were Raven and Eagle (north)
• Raven and Wolf in the south
• Rights of access to resources to clans,
personal/intellectual property to individuals
– Clan property marked by totem poles, could also be
erected to mark offenses (shame poles)
• Homes (plankhouses) owned by the clan
Social Organization
• Patrilocal and avuncolocal residency
• Daily life handled at the extended
household level
• Clan chiefs organize their clan’s labor for
major salmon runs, etc.
Beliefs
• Animatism and animism
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common
Individuals gain power, male
or female, through visions
and demonstration
Shamanism only, no priests
Some specialized societies of
shamans, e.g. Hamatsa
cannibals
Elaborate performances
Languages
• Northern: Athabascan
• Central: Salishan and Wakashan (isolates)
• Southern: Salishan and Penutian, some
Athabascan
Additional Issues
• Potlatches: Why and What
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Funerary
Birth
Death
Status Change
Leveling
Redistribution
Affirmation
Alliances
Outlawed & reinstated
Plateau
Plateau: area of integrations
1. Riverine settlement: large winter villages in the river valleys.
2. Diverse subsistence base: anadromous and local fish, extensive
game, and root resources (camas).
3. Complex fishing technology: harpoons, nets, net weights,
weirs, storage.
4. Foodsharing between groups: many groups fish one area of the
river during salmon runs., through sodalities
5. Kinship ties between groups: intermarriage of groups in and
outside of Plateau.
6. Large trade networks: institutionalized trading partners and
regional trade fairs (Chinook trade jargon).
7. Limited political integration: village to village organization.
8. Uniform mythology and art styles: e.g., vision quest,
shamanism (salmon shaman), spirit helpers for all.
9. Blending of traits from surrounding areas
10.Salish (north) and Sahaptin/Penutian (south)