Title: NORTHWEST COAST
Headings: 
NORTHWEST COAST
Northwest Coast Art
Cooking and Potlatches
Clothing of the Pacific Northwest Coast Indians
Northwest Coast Tribes / Pacific Coast Tribes
Pacific Northwest and Plateau Indian Wars
Subcategories
Article Index:

Content: Masks represent the animals and creatures of the four dimensions of the cosmos: the Sky World, the Mortal World, the Undersea World, and the Spirit World. One of the common themes in the mythology of the Northwest Coast is one in which ancestors come down from the sky and then remove their animal or bird costumes. When used in ceremonies, the masks take on the life and spirit of the spirits which they represent. Traditionally, masks were guarded and hidden away, and not shown until they appeared in the ceremonial dance. Northwest Coast Art
The Northwest Coast is a region in which an entrenched and highly valued artistic tradition flourished. Northwest Coast art-carving and painting-has a very characteristic style. Most commonly, art is used for portraying the family crest and heraldic figures. Another media used by Northwest Coast artists is argillite. Argillite is a soft stone which is found in the Queen Charlotte Islands.