The People of the Northwest Coast:
Geography:
The people of the Northwest Coast lived in a narrow section of coastal land stretching from Washington State to Northern British Columbia, and into Alaska.
Temperatures in these areas were moderate, which gained the Northwest Coast peoples a lot of advantages.
The environment of the Northwest Coast of Canada was very diverse, and often extreme. It included: Rugged coastline (Pacific Ocean), wide and narrow beaches, deep fjords, mountains (near coast), forests, inland rivers and lakes, and many islands.
All the people lived near the water, wither the Pacific Ocean or an inland river or lake, and relied heavily on water for survival.
Living near the water gave the peoples of the Northwest Coast food, water, and transportation.
Religion and Special Ceremonies:
In Northwest Coast culture, their customs, beliefs, and history were passed down orally through stories, songs, and dances.
They had stories about why certain things occurred, for example, the changes in season. There were also stories about each group and how they first appeared in this world. All these stories were passed down to subsequent generations.
The people of the Northwest Coast believed that they were surrounded by supernatural beings interfering with the natural world at all times.
In their culture, spirits were connected to all living things.
The only link between the spirit world and the natural world was the ‘Shamans’ or ‘Medicine Men’.
It was a Shaman’s job to cure the sick, to ensure that there was adequate food, and to influence the weather. The belief was that they had the power to do all those things through and ability to communicate with the spirit world.
Both men and women could have been Shamans, however, ...
... middle of paper ...
...leather, wool, soft cedar bark strips or cattails, with colored grasses to add color. The materials were collected during the summer months and then dried.
One of the most common things they wove were chilkat blankets.
The people of the Northwest Coast wore very little clothing, except when it was cold. In the warmer months, men would often go naked, and women would only wear bark skirts.
Since it rained a lot of the Northwest Coast, clothing was more important for blocking the rain than for keeping them warm. They wore capes and spruce hats as protection against the rain.
For maintaining their social status, so the people typically wore clothes that followed the class system, that is, if a person was rich, they showed it by wearing fancier clothes and jewelry. Chiefs, the highest ranking individuals, wore a chilkat blanket, dance apron, leggings, and moccasins.
Further, prayer and medicine interplay to paint a classical image of the Native’s creed, yet, for many obsolete or preposterous existences of the shaman. To re-install beliefs present in the world for thousands of years, but have been disappearing, writers such as Neidhardt introduce the element of the
fish would stay in shallow waters making them easier to catch. They caught fish such as red fish
The Abenaki People of the Northeast led a non-permanent exististance based mostly on the seasonal flux in the region. The area of land now referred to as Maine especially. Maine has always had abrupt seasons and the Abenaki used these seasons to their advantage. Their culture is one of direct appropriation with nature. This meaning that they were a culture in which nothing was permanent. Their survival depended on mobility. The Abenaki did not utilize storage as we do now, or even as the early Europeans of the time did. For each of the four seasons they stayed in areas where they would successfully survive. For instance, the summer months were spent on the coastal regions fishing and foraging while in the winter they pulled back into the interior forests for protection and hunting. However, they did return to the same part of the forests, coasts and waterfalls where their former camps had been.
There were other taboo's in the Indian culture other then not naming the dead, such as you were never to kill snakes. It was thought that if one were to snake, it would make the snakes mad and more snakes will come and kill a friend or relative. Snakes, spiders, and scorpions were all seen as bad creatures and they were supposed to avoid them. The only time when you are allowed or only safe time to kill one of these was if they bit you or caused you harm. The Indians also believed that if a fox comes near your home and makes noise, that would be the indication that one of your relatives was going to die. The Owl and coyote were messengers to tell you that the person that was supposed to die is already dead. The Indians believed in magic or healers and witches. The way a person comes to gain super natural powers were through dreams and after that the person becomes empowered with special abilities. They believed that certain springs were cursed and you were not supposed to drink from them. The causes of bad springs would be from a witch that would put a special stone in the water and if you drank from it, you would start hearing voices and seeing things. If the person lingered too long around the spring, you would eventually not be able to think any more and would lose your mind essentially. If a person had a bad dream, it could give you bad powers that would make people sick. The Indians were very scared of witches because of the bad things they could do to you. They would not have to touch you to curse you. The good healers when first having their power would go off and dance by himself and start healing people. Witches were not able to harm good people such as healers. If you were cursed by a witch, it would require a healer tha...
usually built their homes on a river or stream valley and were scattered to take
Geography played a large role in the prosperity of the Southeast Native Americans. The landforms around the Southeast Native Americans included mountains, river valleys, and swamps, shown on the far left and right of the exhibit. These landforms affected where they settled and what types of resources that they had. Southeast Native Americans often settled along rivers, such as the one to the far left, for its resources. The climate in the area was hot and humid, which changed the type of clothes that the Southeast Native Americans wore, such as dresses and a lack of clothes on the males as shown on the people. It also allowed Southeast Native Americans to farm for longer because they had short winters and long summers. The land around
All things in nature; humans, plants, and animals were believed to be a spiritual being. Totemism, the belief that humans all humans have a spiritual connection with spirit beings (often in the form of an animal) was central to the Native American tribe’s spirituality. Health and wellbeing are closely linked to spirituality, requiring a spiritual and harmonious relationship with the environment.
...wn well being. . The early pioneers of Seattle failed to see the affects that their actions would have on Northwest and due to their ignorance, they will forever be acknowledged as foolish and unwise.
The ancient ritual of storytelling is a form of communication that dates back as far as civilization and human language can go. Timeless works of literature such as Beowulf and The Iliad were originally told orally and passed down for generations. Storytelling has played an important role in the development of society due to the emphasis on language, the preservation of history, and the acknowledgment of morals.
territory, such as plants and even animals. According to Calloway some of the food items brought from
The clothing that the people of this time wore is very different from today. The people who lived in this time were very conservative in what they wore and how they acted. They were mostly very religious and that also played a huge role in their daily lives. They believed that god judged everything they did so they tried to live life by the bible. Men and women dressed very differently from what they do now. For example men had four essential articles of cloths. The first piece was a shirt or as they called a “camicia”. If you were rich you never just wore the camicia alone because that meant you were just a poor working class man. The second piece of clothing was a “doublet” which is a small jacket that had no sleeves. They would also wear a skirt and knee high socks and a jacket that went down to their knees. The women also wore many layers of clothing. They wore many dresses and they were very big and colorful. They wore shoes that were very weird they were just like high heels today but looked very different. The women would wear a dress that reached to the ground and they wore an outer jacket that was of equal length. The quality of the garment and what it was made of would determine the lady’s social class. The people back the...
in the warm climate the men wore long shirts and legging to protect their legs. They also wore breech clothes is a long rectangular piece. The women wore long dresses. In the winter both men and women wore long robes to keep them worm. they also wore a shoe called moccasin which made of animals
The Pacific Northwest combines the best of abundant natural beauty with cosmopolitan flair. From the peaks of the Cascade Mountains to the emerald lowlands of Puget Sound to Seattle's eclectic port-city charm, the state of Washington offers a vibrant mix of urban and rural settings. LoopNet puts the vast northwest within your reach.
The men and women wore different Hanbok to represent their gender. The outerwear for men was longer compared to the outerwear of women. Lee (2012) discussed that the reason was because women wore long skirts that came up to their chest and men wore big pants. In order to secure their clothes, men used
Everyone in the age would always wear extremely modest clothing. The common garment for a man was the robe gathered at the waist, completed by hose and soft sandals. The same was for the woman, except their dress extended to the feet. The most common materials used to make clothing were linen and woolens, though...