Title: Northwest Coast Indians  - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help
Headings: Northwest Coast Indians
Northwest Coast Indians
Introduction
Area
Food
Housing
Society
Religion
Modern Developments

Content: Religion
Northwest Coast peoples believed that salmon were supernatural beings who chose to take the form of fish each year to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of humankind. They treated the salmon with great respect and followed a number of rituals to assure that the salmon would return to the river. Another religious concept was the vision quest—a supernatural experience in which a person interacts with a spirit-being. A vision quest typically involved going to an isolated location and praying while refusing food and water. Among some Northwest Coast peoples, all success in life was granted by the spirit-beings encountered in the vision quest. Shamanism was practiced among the Northwest Coast Indians. It was commonly believed that some shamans had the power to cause illnesses as well as to cure them. Modern Developments
The Russians were the first Europeans to encounter the Northwest Coast Indians, in 1741. Other white colonizers arrived by 1800, and they all wanted sea otter pelts. The tribes traded these furs for manufactured goods, such as steel blades.