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People of the Northwest Coast. By: Gurbinder, Dylan, and William. 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.
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People of the Northwest Coast By: Gurbinder, Dylan, and William
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