Title: Native People of the American Northwest Coast
Headings: Native People of the American Northwest Coast
Native People of the American Northwest Coast
HOW THEY GOT HERE
COOL CULTURE
LIFE TODAY
fun facts

Content: By 3,000 B.C., people had set up permanent villages along the rivers, peninsulas, and islands of this region. The thunderbird, a spirit being, was a common crest for totem poles like this one. Photograph by Andrea Izzotti, Shutterstock
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. COOL CULTURE
The ocean and the lush coastal forests provided the Northwest Coast people with everything that they needed to survive. Tribes carved huge canoes made from cedar or spruce trees. The boats could fit up to 30 people, who paddled into the sea to hunt otters, seals, and whales. Salmon was such an important food source that these fish featured in many of their stories, and many tribes held a First Salmon Ceremony to celebrate the salmon’s return to freshwater rivers from the ocean. Many tribes, such as the Tlingit (KLIN-kit) and Haida (HY-dah), showed off their status with totem poles. These carved and painted poles represented a family’s history or honored a chief or other important person.