161 Pacific Coast Culture
Learning Objective
- Examine how natural resources shaped the cultures of the Pacific Coast
Key Points
- Due to the prosperity made possible by the abundant natural resources in this region, the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest developed complex religious and social ceremonies as well as many fine arts and crafts.
- Music was created to honor the Earth, the creator, ancestors, and all other aspects of the supernatural world.
- Many works of art served practical purposes, such as clothing, tools, weapons of war and hunting, transportation, and shelter; but others were purely aesthetic.
- The Pacific Coast was at one time the most densely populated area of North America in terms of indigenous peoples.
Terms
animism
The worldview that non-human entities—such as animals, plants, and inanimate objects—possess a spiritual essence.
potlatch
A ceremony amongst certain American Indian peoples of the Pacific Coast in which gifts are bestowed upon guests and personal property is destroyed in a show of wealth and generosity.
permaculture
Any system of sustainable agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems.
The indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast were composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities; but they shared certain beliefs, traditions, and practices, such as the centrality of salmon as a resource and spiritual symbol. These nations had time and energy to devote to the establishment of fine arts and crafts and to religious and social ceremonies. The term “Northwest Coast”, or “North West Coast”, is used to refer to the groups of indigenous people residing along the coasts of British Columbia, Washington State, parts of Alaska, Oregon, and northern California.
The Pacific Northwest Coast at one time had the most densely populated areas of indigenous people. The mild climate and abundant natural resources, such as cedar and salmon, made possible the rise of a complex aboriginal culture. The indigenous people in this region practiced various forms of forest gardening and fire-stick farming in the forests, grasslands, mixed woodlands, and wetlands, ensuring that desired food and medicine plats continued to be available through the use of advanced farming techniques. Those involved in agricultural development would create low-intensity fires in order to prevent larger, catastrophic fires and sustain low-density agriculture in a loose rotation. This is what is known as permaculture, or any system of sustainable agriculture that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems.
Arts and Crafts
One of the major cultural elements that began to flourish on the Pacific Northwest Coast was the use of music and other forms of arts and crafts. Although music varied in function and expression among indigenous tribes, there were cultural similarities. For example, some tribes used hand drums made of animal hides as their instr