Title: Northwest Coast Indians  - Students | Britannica Kids | Homework Help
Headings: Northwest Coast Indians
Northwest Coast Indians
Introduction
Traditional Culture
Peoples and Languages
Food
Settlements and Housing
Clothing
Technology and Arts
Society
Religion
European Contact and Cultural Change

Content: Faces of animals, birds, and people were carved on boxes, house fronts, house posts, boats, and grave posts. Woodworkers made wooden helmets and masks for ceremonial dances and dramatic performances. Most spectacular of the artworks was the totem or memorial pole. Northwest craftsmen also had some native copper to work with. They made some of their arrowheads from it, as well as copper knives for weapons of war. They engraved designs on a plaque, called a “copper,” that served in the place of a valuable bank note. One famous copper was valued at 7,500 blankets. Another great skill of the Northwest Indians was weaving. The women wove long, ribbonlike strands of inner cedar bark into mats and beautiful baskets. Storage containers, receptacles for valuables large and small, and rain hats were also woven.