Title: NORTHWEST COAST AMERICAN INDIAN FACTS
Headings: Northwest Indian Facts
Northwest Indian Facts
Introduction - Northwest Indian Tribes
Northwest Coast American Indian Tribes List
List of Facts About the American Indians of the Northwest Coast

Content: Many represented family crests or told stories from family or tribal history. Beautiful and intricate cedar dance masked were carved out of wood. They were often used in storytelling at ceremonies such as a potlatch. Some masks even had a second carved face inside the first to unmask as a story was told. The Indians developed a social system that was highly stratified. There were those at the top- the nobles, the middle- the commoners, and the bottom-the slaves. The First Salmon was an important feast honoring the salmon, one of their most plentiful food sources. They believed the salmons chose to sacrifice themselves for humans so their spirits could go on to live again like humans, in houses under the sea.