What were their homes like?
What was hanging high above the rafters of their homes and why?
Rows of fish were hung to dry.
Why didn't the NW coast Indians farm and what did they mostly eat?
They didn't need to because there was food all around them in the water, mostly salmon.
What did women wear?
Women wore skirts made from cedar bark.
When a boy was about 12, why did he walk away from his village and go deep into the forest?
He was on a quest to find the powerful spirits who would help him for the rest of his life.
Because there were no roads, what two things did everyone need to know how to do?
Everyone had to know how to swim and handle a canoe.
What were their homes made of and why were they so big?
Their homes were made from thick boards from cedar trees, and were so big because many families lived in them.
What are two meats they sometimes ate?
The NW coast Indians sometimes ate deer meat or the fatty blubber from a whale or seal.
What did men wear?
Men wore breechcloths or nothing at all.
The coastal Indians loved parties. What were these parties called and what did that word mean?
The parties were called potlatches which means to give away.
Name two jobs that only women did.
Women took care of the home, dried and smoked fish, made woven baskets and all the blankets and cedar bark clothing.
Where did they sleep?
They slept on a wooden platform along the wall.
Even though they didn't farm, what plants did they eat?
They ate plants and roots that the women gathered in the forest like shoots from cow parsnips and roasted licorice roots.
What were their clothes made from and how could that be comfortable?
Their clothes were made from cedar bark, but they used the soft inner layer of the tree and women pounded the bark into long, thin fibers.
What was the most important day of the year and why?
The day the salmon returned in the spring.
What did all boys learn to be?
All boys learned to be fishermen like their fathers.
What did the houses in their village face and what was behind their houses?
Their houses faced the beach and the dark forest and mountains were behind them.
Why didn't they eat bread?
They didn't grow corn or grain which was needed to make bread.
It rained a lot, so what did they use to keep themselves dry?
They wore a cape or blanket made of woven cedar bark.
What did most coastal Indians believe that salmon were?
They believed the salmon were some of the First People who lived in a magic village under the sea.
If a boy had a special talent, what did his family do for him?
His family would find a teacher to help him develop his talent.
It was dark inside their homes because they only had two ways to let light in. What are those two ways?
They had the light from cooking fires and the smoke hole in the roof.
What was a favorite treat for them to eat?
They loved fish eggs!
What did they wear if it got really cold?
They wore a bearskin fur robe or a robe made from bird skins. If it was really cold, they wore deerskin moccasins or wrap woven cedar bark around their feet.
What had to happen before the fishing of the year began?
Prayers were said and the chief's wife would roast the first salmon and give everyone a small bite to eat.
What was a well paid job for some men?
Only a few men in the village know how to make a canoe.