Kwakiutl

Northwest

Northwest – Kwakiutl"kwah-kee-oo-tl."

http://naindiansrob.forsyth.wikispaces.net/Kwakiutl

Culture: These native Americans wear masks, ornate weaving, wood work, sing songs, and myths. They speak the Wakashan language, also called the Kwak' wala language. They tell some myths by doing dances. They do the delicate art of weaving .

Totem Poles

The Kwakiutl are recognized for the artistic totem poles

Traditional Masks

Kwakiutl HousingThis shelter is made from cedar planks and can hold up to 50 people! In the

entrance there would be large totem poles. On each totem pole there would be a carved animal which represents the clan or a group of related families.

These totem poles are also made from cedar trees.

FoodThese people ate berries, bears, wolves, buffalo, and mostly seafood like seals and fish. Kwawiutl men were excellent fish hunters. They were the first Native American tribe to use iron. They carved it to use as spears. Two men did the job of getting fish. One person used a stick to push salmon or fish to the other person who speared the fish. After they are done eating the fish they return the bones of the fish back to the ocean.

Salmon was a major catch during spawning season when the salmon would be swimming upriver. In addition, they sometimes went whale harpooning for which a trip could last days while the whale was being stalked. They ate most of the fauna in the Northwest coast, including land animals like rabbits, caribou and more. They also collected shellfish and seaweed from the beach, called beach food. Many of the marine mammals they hunted for furs and food were sea otters, walruses, seals, and whales. The sea birds living on the shore were a good source of eggs, and the bird flesh was very tender and oily, making it quite desirable.

ClothingIn the summer the men wore small pants and the women wore short skirts and leggings. Sometimes clothing is made from cedar trees. In the winter season, men, women, and children wore the skin of the buffalo to keep warm. On occasion they wore fancy moccasins and dresses.

TransportationKwakwaka'wakw transportation similar to that of other coastal people. Being an ocean and coastal people, the main way of travel was by canoe. Cedar dugout canoes, made from one log, would be carved for use by individuals, families, and tribes. Sizes varied from ocean-going canoes for long sea-worth travel in trade missions, to smaller local canoes for inter-village travel.

Before coming in contact with settlers during the late 1700s, they had a complex stratified society with chiefs and nobles and slaves that included their tradition called the potlatch. The Kwakiutls traded furs with the explorers and began to incorporate the Western life into their tribal ways. In the 1800s, they started

working for commercial fishing companies. All these changes plus the European diseases nearly devastated their numbers.

Kwakiutl

“Kwakiutl Indian Fact Sheet” - http://www.bigorrin.org/kwakiutl_kids.htm

“Kwakiutl Indians” - PowerPoint presentation

Textbook pages 48-49