Native Cultures of the Pacific Northwest

Important cultural traditions and practices played a part in everyday life within the tribes. A family would show its importance by throwing a party. The family giving the party would supply their guests with food and presents to show off their wealth and social standing. 

Storytelling was a way to pass down the histories of each family member. This was the mother's and grandmothers' responsibility to the children.

The native peoples of the Pacific Northwest did not make pottery. They used trees and plants for wooden boxes and baskets. The baskets were tight enough to hold water, and they used the boxes for everything--even cooking. They heated food by using hot rocks to drop into the wooden boxes holding the food.

The most important time of the year was “salmon run” time. The salmon swim from the ocean, up streams and rivers where the Indians would wait. The first salmon caught would be brought to the person in charge of the ceremony. He would perform the ceremony, pointing the salmon’s head in a certain direction, showing the other salmon which way to go. The tribes believed that if they didn’t hold the ceremony, the salmon would not return the next year. They used wooden racks to dry fish and wooden sheds for smoking fish. They used the salmon meat for food and the oil for medicine and seasonings.