American Indians of the Pacific Northwest
single file for printing
collection description
American Indians of the Pacific
Northwest integrates over 2,300 photographs and 7,700 pages of text relating
to the American Indians in two cultural areas of this region, the Northwest Coast
and Plateau. These resources illustrate many aspects of life and work, including
housing, clothing, crafts,
transportation, education, and employment.
You may go directly to the collection, American
Indians of the Pacific Northwest, in American Memory.
special presentations
These online exhibits provide context and additional
information about
this collection.
Ten Illustrated
Essays
historical eras
These historical era(s) are best represented in the collection, although
they may not be all-encompassing.
Expansion and Reform, 1801-1861
The Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850-1877
Development of the Industrial United States, 1876-1915
Emergence of Modern America, 1890-1930
The Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945
related collections and exhibits
These collections and exhibits contain thematically-related primary and secondary
sources. Also browse the Collection Finder for more related material on
the American Memory Web site.
American
Environmental Photographs, 1891-1936
In the Beginning
Was the Word
Map Collections, 1500-2004
The Nineteenth
Century in Print
Omaha Indian Music
Pioneering the Upper
Midwest, ca. 1820-1910
Thomas Jefferson Papers,
1606-1827
Taking the Long View,
1851-1991
other resources
Recommended additional sources of information.
Read More About It! - A bibliography
Maps of the Region
search tips
Specific guidance for searching this collection.
Search the collection
using the keyword, or browse by Subject
Index, Geographic
Location, or Author/Photographer.
For help with search words, go to the Synonym
List.
For more help with search strategies, see Finding
Items in American Memory.
viewing tips
No special viewers are needed to view this collection.
Native-American Cultures of the Pacific Northwest
Ethnographers are people who study and record cultures. By the time the discipline
of ethnography was established in the United States, Native Americans of the
Pacific Northwest "had come under white influence," writes Marion
Pearsall on the first page of her article, "Contributions
of Early Explorers and Traders to the Ethnography of the Northwest".
"They had been decimated by epidemics, converted by missionaries, pushed
off their lands by settlers, and finally herded onto reservations by the
government. Little of the Indian culture remains today."
There are few historical records of what Native-American cultures were
like before "white influence." However, many aspects of these
cultures have endured to some extent in the cultures of subsequent generations.
The collection's photographs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries
provide rich first-hand evidence of Native-American cultures, while secondary
texts by scholars provide context and guidance for understanding this evidence.
Begin a study of Native-American cultures with the Special
Presentation. The introductory
essay provides an orientation to the collection and presents the inherent
challenges in studying these cultures. The other essays provide an overview
of the region and its diverse cultures, focusing on individual tribal groups
as well as cross-cultural topics.
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Chugach Eskimo man with hat and piercings |
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Interior
of a longhouse, Neah Bay, ca. 1900 |
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Search the
collection for photographs of objects and activities that you think would
manifest Native-American cultures, such as baskets, blankets, clothing, canoes, longhouses, hunting, games, cooking,
and dancing. Browse the Subject
Index for images organized by over 100 tribes under headings such as Tahltan
Indians--Clothing & dress and Makah Indians--Subsistence activities.
There are also countless texts written by explorers, Indian agents, missionaries,
and other Euro-American contemporaries, which describe Indian cultures. Search on Pacific
Northwest Quarterly and Publications in Anthropology for scholarly articles
with in-depth information, such as "The
Dog's Hair Blankets of the Coast Salish" and "A
Prism of Carved Rock: Dalles Area Rock Art as an Insight into Native American
Cultures."
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- Note the date and location of the texts and images and consider to what
extent the object or activity portrayed might have been influenced by Euro-American
culture or a blending of native cultures.
- What are the similarities and differences between the crafts, religious
practices, and subsistence activities of different tribes?
- What can you learn from this information about different tribes' values
and beliefs?
- What must be taken into consideration when reading accounts of Native-American
cultures written by Euro-American explorers, fur traders, missionaries, and
Indian agents? How do you judge the validity of these documents?
Early Exploration and the Fur Trade
The earliest explorers of the Pacific Northwest
came to its coasts in the 18th century. Spanish, English, French, Portuguese,
Russian, and American explorers sought to claim land and establish trade
routes in the New World.
In 1803, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned Captain Meriwether
Lewis to lead an overland expedition to the western territories. In his
letter to Lewis, Jefferson instructed that information should be gathered
on the indigenous peoples they would encounter. The letter is excerpted
in Pearsall's "Contributions
of Early Explorers and Traders to the Ethnography of the Northwest".
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Detail of Clayoquot
villages in the area governed by Wickaninnish |
Hudson's Bay Company blockhouse & store houses |
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Except for the Lewis and Clark expedition,
however, all of the early exploration was done on behalf of the fur trade.
The Northwest Company, the Hudson’s Bay Company, and others commissioned
explorers to search for new hunting grounds and establish trading posts,
resulting in fierce commercial competition for control over the Pacific
Northwest. Search on fur
trade to learn more about the business that shaped the future of the
Pacific Northwest.
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Pearsall's article describes the expeditions
of the earliest explorers and their interactions with Native Americans who
supplied furs and provided information about the region. The Subject
Index heading, Indians of North America--First contact with Europeans,
provides access to other scholarly articles that often excerpt primary source
materials. For example, "Nootka
Sound in 1789: Joseph Ingraham's Account" includes Ingraham's letter
in its entirety. In it, he recounts the Nootka Indians' story about the
first European ship to arrive at the Nootka Sound. Ingraham, an American,
identifies the ship as belonging to Spain, a rival in the fur trade:
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Nootka canoes approach three-masted ship |
They said she was a larger ship than they had ever seen since, that she
was coppered . . . (this I suppose to have been gilt or painted yellow),
that she had a great many guns and men, that the officers wore blue laced
coats, and that most of the men wore handkerchiefs about their heads. They
made them presents of large pearl shells . . . knives with crooked blades
and black handles. The natives sold them fish and their garments but no
furs. When they first saw this ship, they said they were exceedingly terrified
and but few of them ever ventured alongside.
(Page 163, "Nootka
Sound in 1789: Joseph Ingraham's Account")
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Haida woman with labret & fur cloak |
- How did the fur trade work? Who supplied, sold, and bought furs?
- What kinds of interactions did early explorers and fur traders have with
Native American groups? What interest did they have in each other?
- What were some of the challenges facing early explorers of the Pacific
Northwest? How did these challenges affect interactions between explorers
and Native Americans?
- How do you think that Native Americans might have felt about the appearance
of explorers and fur traders in their homelands? How and why might those feelings
have changed over time?
- How do you think that explorers and fur traders might have felt about the
Native Americans living in the foreign lands that they hoped to exploit?
- How did the national and commercial competition of the fur trade affect
relations with Native Americans and developments in the region?
Missionaries in the Pacific Northwest
Scottish missionary William Duncan |
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Once the fur companies made inroads into the
region, missionaries were eager to bring Christianity to the indigenous
peoples of the Pacific Northwest. The Subject
Index heading, Christianity, and a search on missionaries provide
many images, primary texts by Indian agents and missionaries, and secondary
texts such as "Anglicanism
Among the Indians of Washington Territory," which includes excerpts
from the Church of England Missionary Society Proceedings, 1819-1820:
It has been suggested ... that the western parts of British America,
lying between the high ridge called the Rocky Mountains and the North
Pacific Ocean, and extending from about the 42d to the 57th degree of
North Latitude, offer a more promising and practicable field for Missionary
Labours than any other in that quarter of the Globe. The people are not
savage, ferocious, and wandering; but settled in villages, and in several
respects somewhat civilized, though still in the hunter state; with few
arts, no letters, no general knowledge, but a great desire to be taught
by White Men, whose superiority they clearly discern... .
(Pages 224-25, "Anglicanism
Among the Indians of Washington Territory")
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- Why would the Church of England want to establish missions among Native
Americans of the Pacific Northwest? What attracts them to this particular
region?
- Why do you think that the Missionary Society described the people of
the Northwest as having a "great desire to be taught by White Men,
whose superiority they clearly discern"?
- What attitudes did missionaries have towards Native Americans? Can you
identify differences among missionaries' attitudes?
In the first half of the 19th century, several denominations established
missions throughout the Northwest. Protestant missions were established
in 1834 and 1836 in the Oregon Territory. Jesuit missions were established
in Oregon in 1840. Catholics established missions at Fort Vancouver in
1838, and on Idaho's St. Joe River around 1842. Subject
Index headings such as Catholic, Catechists, church, nuns, Jesuit, Methodist, Presbyterian,
and priests provide narrower selections of materials such as this
1859 photograph of Jesuit Pierre-Jean de Smet with a delegation of chiefs
on a peace mission in Vancouver.
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Skokomish missionary named Myron Eells |
Puget Sound Salish woman |
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Missionary work was supported by the U.S.
government as a means of assimilating, or "civilizing," Native
Americans and has been seen as something forced upon indigenous people.
However, in her article, "Christianity,
a Matter of Choice: The Historic Role of Indian Catechists in Oregon Territory
and British Columbia," Margaret Whitehead makes the point that
Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest "displayed . . . selectivity
when proffered white culture. They could and did deal intelligently and
profitably with the intrusive society." Her article focuses on the
free choice many Native Americans made to accept Christianity, while "Lawyer
of the Nez Perces" describes how in 1831, the Nez Perces and Flatheads
sent a delegation to St. Louis seeking information about Christianity.
Missionaries were not always successful in converting Indians. "The
Spokane Indian Mission at Tshimakain, 1838-1848" and "Lawyer
of the Nez Perces" describe the problems of a group of Presbyterian
missionaries in the Northwest, culminating in the 1847 massacre of Marcus
Whitman, a medical doctor at the Waiilatpu Mission. The massacre ultimately
led to the Cayuse War, which set back missionary work in the region for
a decade.
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- What was the relationship between the fur trade and missionary work?
What interactions occurred between individuals of each group?
- What did missionaries hope to accomplish in the Pacific Northwest? Did
their goals change over time?
- What techniques and activities did they use to achieve their goals?
How successful were they?
- How did Native Americans respond to missionaries and to Christianity?
- According to their reports, what did Indian agents and superintendents
think of missionary work? What value did they see in it? What problems
did they see?
- What roles did missionaries play in establishing and enforcing government
policies towards Native Americans?
- How did the introduction of Christianity impact Native-American cultures
and the way history unfolded in the Pacific Northwest?
- What other missionary work was going on in North America during the
19th century, and how did it compare to the work in the Pacific Northwest?
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Photograph of Sahale Stick.
Page 100 of “Christianity,
a Matter of Choice” |
Conflict and Violence
Hot on the heels of the missionaries came wagonloads of people eager to settle
in Oregon Territory. The United States and Great Britain were both determined
to claim the Northwest and made rapid strides towards settlement. President
Tyler appointed an Indian sub-agent to Oregon Country in 1842. With him, the
sub-agent brought 100 settlers, and led the way for countless others to cross
the Oregon Trail. The following year, almost 1000 settlers entered Oregon Territory.
Part of the success of the effort was due to agreements reached with Native
Americans that they wouldn't harm the immigrants. Nevertheless, the presence
of settlers in the Pacific Northwest resulted in conflict and violence that
only increased as ever more settlers, ambitious for land and gold, poured into
the region in the following decades.
Haida
in canoes watch the Discovery on the rocks |
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The Subject
Index heading, Indians of North America--First contact with Europeans,
provides articles such as "Captain
James Colnett and the Tsimshian Indians, 1787," that describe
some of the earliest conflicts. Materials found under the Subject
Index heading, Frontier and pioneer life, pertain to 19th century
conflicts. The article, "American
and British Treatment of the Indians in the Pacific Northwest," describes
and analyzes the atmosphere of violence and racial hatred that prevailed
in certain quarters:
"The exasperation of the southern Idaho communities, under continual
Indian harassment, became extreme. This was especially true in Owyhee.
A meeting of citizens offered rewards for scalps; one hundred dollars
for that of a buck, fifty dollars for that of a squaw and twenty-five
dollars for 'everything in the shape of an Indian under ten.' When fifty-five
Indians were reported killed in Humboldt, the local paper in Owyhee rejoiced
that these were made 'permanently friendly'..."
(Page 36, "American
and British Treatment of the Indians in the Pacific Northwest")
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- What were the causes of conflict between Native Americans and early explorers?
- What were the causes of conflict between Native Americans and settlers
in places such as Owyhee, Idaho?
- According to the author of "American and British Treatment of the Indians
in the Pacific Northwest," what were some of the causes of the violence of
this era?
- How did some people rationalize the extermination of native populations?
- How might conflict and violence have been avoided?
Major acts of war emerged from this background of tension and conflict. Subject
Index heading, Indians of North America--Wars, and a search on war and hostilities locate
items such as an 1856
letter by Joel Palmer, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Oregon
Territory, discussing the conflicts between settlers and Native Americans
that culminated in the Rogue River War. John
Cain, reporting from the Washington Territory, predicted the outbreak
of a major war following the killing of eight miners traveling through Yakima
territory. The article, "Lawyer
of the Nez Perces," includes a detailed account of the events leading
up to the Whitman massacre.
- According to Superintendent Palmer, why are normally peaceful Native
Americans in Oregon supporting warring Native Americans?
- What problems does Palmer identify in the strategy of "armed parties?"
- According to Superintendent Cain, what caused the outbreak among the
Yakimas and Clickatats?
- What events at the Wai-i-lat-pu mission led up to the Whitman massacre?
- What were the feared and actual consequences of the massacre?
- What attempts were made to ease tension and avoid conflict? Who made
these efforts? Were they successful? Why or why not?
- Why do you think that single incidents of violence posed such a threat
to incite more violence?
- How do you think that news was conveyed in the region in the 19th century?
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Cayuse
man known as Cutmouth John |
Tlingit,
Aleut, and Eskimo baskets, arrows, and woodcarving in house |
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A newspaper reporter identified simply as
correspondent "B" used several letters of combatants to report
on the fight with Native Americans near the Pelouse River south of Spokane
in eastern Washington.
"...Towards evening our ammunition began to give out, and our men
suffering so much from thirst and fatigue required all our attention to
keep them up. To move from one point to another, we had to crawl on our
hands and knees amid the howling of the Indians, the groans of the dying,
and the whistling of balls and arrows. We were kept in this position until
8 o'clock p.m.; when as night came on, it became apparent that on the
morrow we must "go under," and that not one of us would escape.
...Therefore it was determined to run the gauntlet, so that if possible
some might escape..."
(Pages 273-74, "No.
98: Copy of newspaper correspondent 'B'")
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"The Indian Problem": Euro-American Attitudes
In 1816, the American Colonization Society
was founded to help relocate free African Americans to a colony in Liberia,
Africa. For, while some felt that African Americans should be integrated
into Euro-American society, even some abolitionists doubted the transition
could be made.
"The Indian Problem" entailed a similar ambivalence. Francis
Haines defines "The Indian Problem" in her article, "Problems
of Indian Policy":
"The Indian Problem of the Pacific Northwest is an integral part
of a national problem inherited from the colonial period. From the landing
of the first colonists on the Atlantic Coast, the dominant white invaders
have debated over the handling of the primitive native people who occupied
the country... Some groups have worked to exterminate the Indian people,
while others have tried to assimilate them. Some say we should teach them
to be like white men; others want to keep the remnants of the tribes as
separate cultural entities. Much confusion has resulted from the clash
of these two fundamentally different schools of thought regarding the
Indian."
(Page 203, "Problems
of Indian Policy")
Other secondary as well as primary sources pertaining to “The Indian
Problem” can be found by searching on race
relations or by using Subject
Index headings, Indians of North America--Colonization, Indians
of North America--Cultural assimilation, and Indians of North America--Legal
status.
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The
color question...1877.
From The African-American
Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909. |
Primary sources reveal contemporary attitudes and illustrate the ongoing
debate over "The Indian Problem." For example, a newspaper report
expresses many settlers' belief in the inevitability of extermination:
"'... the purposes of the red man's creation in the economy of nature
are well nigh accomplished, and no human hand can avert his early extermination
from the face of the North American continent. Silently but irresistibly the
purposes of Providence take their way through the ages...'"
(Page 32, "American
and British Treatment of the Indians in the Pacific Northwest")
In his 1866
report, Dennis Cooley, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, expresses an
equally fatalistic, but less drastic view of the situation, while John Smith
reveals his own views in a report from the Warm Springs agency:
Warm
Springs young women, Oregon |
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" ... the large amount of iron which was used by former agents to
make handcuffs to iron prisoners with has been used by me in the manufacture
of plows and wagons. The guard-house likewise has fallen, and is in ruins.
The Bible and the plow are the great causes of all this. Compare the cost
that this agency has been to the cost of one month's extermination policy,
and no other argument need be produced in favor of the humane and Christian
policy of our President. I am confident that a like result may be obtained
with any tribe of Indians, by a kind and patient treatment. They should
be regarded and treated as children -- with firmness and kindness."
(Page 320, "No.
72: Annual report of Warm Springs agency")
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George P. Castille, the author of "Edwin
Eells, U. S. Indian Agent, 1871-1895," intended his article to provide
a portrait of an assimilationist.
- What opinions did Euro Americans have about what ought to happen to the
Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest?
- What concepts and factors entered into these positions?
- What does the language of some of these documents reveal about how Euro
Americans regarded and treated Native Americans?
- What positions would you expect missionaries, settlers, and Indian agents
to take? Are there variations of attitudes and opinions within each group?
- How did different opinions play out over time as Native American populations
were decimated and moved onto reservations?
Native-American Attitudes
Native Americans' attitudes and opinions are
more difficult to determine because they are generally recorded second-hand
by agents, missionaries, and other Euro Americans.
Some first-person statements are available in minutes from treaty councils
and other meetings with government officials. Minutes are included in items
found by searching on council as
well as in the article, "The
Indian Treaty of Point No Point." Minutes were often recorded
by a clerk who sat by an interpreter. As Native Americans became more savvy
about official meetings, they demanded the right to chose their own interpreters
and recorders. In a council held in 1871 at the Warm Spring Reservation,
Ta-se-nick of the Wascoe tribe is recorded as saying:
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Yakama
Indians at meeting in council hall |
The article, "Lawyer
of the Nez Perces" shows Nez Perce leaders, Lawyer and Looking Glass,
taking opposing views on the signing of an 1855 treaty, with Looking Glass
admonishing," 'My people, what have you done? While I was gone, you have
sold my country.' " Other materials describing the trials of the Nez
Perces, such as "The
Nez Perces in Exile" show the tribe divided on how to co-exist with
Euro Americans over the course of three decades.
Some agents' reports, such as E.C. Chirouse’s "Annual
report of Tulalip agency," reflect Native-American attitudes, while
David Buerge's essay, "Chief
Seattle and Chief Joseph: From Indians to Icons," in the Special
Presentation, discusses the points of view of these two historical leaders.
- Is there evidence of what Native Americans thought were the best ways
to deal with the presence of Euro-American people and culture?
- What objections did Native Americans have to a reservation policy?
- What sorts of attitudes did Native Americans have towards Euro Americans?
Were they as varied as Euro-American attitudes towards Native Americans?
- Do you think that Native Americans' debate over what to do about Euro
Americans was as fierce as the debate over "The Indian Problem?" Why
or why not?
- Were Native Americans receptive to any aspects of Euro-American culture?
If so, which ones?
- Is there any reason to question the authenticity of statements recorded
in council minutes?
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Duwamish
and Suquamish man named Chief Seattle |
Treaties
- Why were so many treaties made in the same year? What factors precipitated
this "campaign of treaty-making?"
- What events provided a precedent or basis for negotiating treaties?
- Why did some people object to the idea of negotiating treaties with Native
Americans?
- What did the treaties provide and guarantee Native Americans?
- What did Native Americans agree to by signing the treaties?
- What relationship do the treaties establish between Native Americans and
the United States government?
- How much control did the treaties give Native Americans over their own
land and lives? Who else was given this control?
- How do you think treaties were meant to solve "The Indian Problem?" Who
would have objected to this solution?
Various documents, including the reports of the Superintendent of Indian
Affairs and Indian Agents, indicate that problems persisted and complications
arose after the establishment of treaties and reservations. Search on report, treaty, council,
and reservation for pertinent materials.
- What problems do Indian agents complain of? To what do they attribute these
problems and what remedies do they suggest?
- How did Native Americans feel about the reservation policy?
- Did the use of treaties solve "The Indian Problem"? Why or why
not?
"The importance of this legislation underscores the extraordinary degree
to which the lives of Native Americans and even their identities are defined
by law and governmental decree. What is the legal definition of a Native American?
Which law governs their actions? What rights do they have that are different
from those of other Americans? The treaties stand as fundamental, often defining
documents for native groups in the United States, as much or more than the
Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. . . While many citizens regard
the treaties as hindering anachronisms, most Native Americans do not."
The Reservation System
Quinault
Indian Reservation, Washington |
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The most obvious consequence of the treaties
negotiated with Native Americans was the creation of reservations. A careful
reading of the treaties in this collection indicates that reservations were
areas that Native Americans reserved for themselves out of the land they
ceded to the United States government. This collection provides a rare opportunity
to understand what life has been like on reservations of the Pacific Northwest
since their establishment in the second half of the 19th century.
The Subject
Index heading, Indian reservations, provides access to over
500 items, including legislation, scholarly articles, and reports by Indian
agents and other reservation staff. A search on reservation yields
similar items as well as photographs.
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Umatilla
women in front of large tipi |
- What did reservations look like? What kinds of buildings were there?
- What sorts of activities did Indians engage in on reservations? Did they
continue any traditional activities? What new activities did they take on?
- Did Native Americans go off reservations? If so, why?
- What do you think it would have been like to live on a reservation and
why?
"Although a majority still derive their sustenance from hunting, fishing,
root-gathering, &c., it is gratifying to observe marked progress has been
made during the past year in the way of civilization, and that at least a
few more have been induced to relinquish a roving life to try the cultivation
of the soil. Some eight new houses have been built by the Indians, toward
the construction of which 16,000 feet of lumber, together with other needed
materials, were furnished by the agency. . . The fund appropriated for 'beneficial
objects,' amounting to but $750 per quarter, is barely sufficient to supply
the entirely helpless and needy with food and clothing . . "
(Page 88, "Report
of Flathead agency")
A less positive view of the reservation system was reported in the San Francisco
Daily Bulletin in 1862. The newspaper printed a speech by Qui-tal-i-can, a
Yakima, objecting to annuities distributed by the government at the Yakima
agency:
"The white men propose to bring all Indians to one land. Not good.
Like driving horses into a corral. Suppose Indians went to Boston and told
all the Bostons to go to one place. Would it be well? I am a poor man, but
I will not say to the Agent, I am a dog. The Great Spirit will take care of
us. He will always cause the grass to grow and the water to run. I am somewhat
ashamed to be here today. My land is not to be sold for a few blankets and
a few yards of cloth... ."
(Page 39, "American
and British Treatment of the Indians in the Pacific Northwest")
- Why didn't Native Americans such as Qui-tal-i-can like annuities?
- Why did some agents object to the use of annuities?
- How were reservations managed? Who created and enforced laws and policies?
- What were agents' goals and expectations of the Native Americans on their
reservations?
- Why might Native Americans and agents feel differently about the "progress" made
on reservations?
- What legislation was created that affected reservation life and policy?
What were the effects of such legislation?
- How did reservations change over time?
Indian Schools
Treaties made in the Pacific Northwest stipulated
that the U.S. government would provide education to Native Americans living
on reservations. Though it took several years, day schools and boarding
schools were eventually established on reservations. In addition, boarding
schools such as the Carlisle school were established off reservations. Students
were required to live at boarding schools most of the year, thereby removing
them from the influence of their families and traditional cultures.
Reports to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs reflect the reformist attitudes
of Indian school teachers, administrators, and staff. Along with photographs,
they also provide a detailed picture of the practices and effects of Americanization
upon young Native Americans:
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Spokane
Indian School baseball team |
Fort
Spokane students, Washington |
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"Since my last annual report I have visited nearly all the reservations
on this coast and found many of the scholars that had gone out from this
school now in the employ of the Government, filling various positions of
trust at their several agencies, and others engaged in the different pursuits
of life, where they were exerting a good and healthful influence among
their people, proving most conclusively that the money expended by the
Government is not wasted, but is bringing forth fruit that will ripen into
a rich harvest of peace, prosperity, and happiness to these poor, unfortunate,
and misguided children of the forest. The only way to save the fragment
of this once numerous and powerful race of people is for the good work
recently inaugurated by the Government to go on and educate and train their
children in the better ways of advanced civilization."
(Page 272-273, "Reports
of Superintendents of Indian Schools: Report of school at Chemawa, Oregon")
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Chemawa
Indian School cooking class |
Government schools generally offered a curriculum of academic and industrial
training. On many reservations, missionaries established schools that combined
academic and religious education. In some cases, the government supported missionary
schools in fulfillment of its treaty obligation to provide education. Search on Indian
school, missionary school, teacher, student, boy,
and girl for texts and images.
- What knowledge and skills were young Native Americans encouraged to acquire
at Indian schools and why?
- Why would Indian school officials think it important that Native Americans
have industrial training?
- What are the similarities and differences between government schools and
missionary schools? Was the curriculum different? The atmosphere?
- Do the photographs of the collection emphasize certain aspects of Indian
education? What don't the photographs show? Why do you think that is?
Sitka
Training School, Sitka, Alaska |
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"Captain Glass . . . caused
the houses to be numbered, and an accurate census taken of the inmates--adults
and children. He then caused a label to be made of tin for each child, which
was tied around the neck of the child, with his or her number and the number
of the house on it, so that if a child was found on the street during school
hours the Indian policeman was under orders to take the numbers on the labels
and report them, or the teacher each day would report that such numbers
from such houses were absent that day. The following morning the head Indian
of the house to which the absentee belonged was summoned to appear and answer
for the absence of the child. If the child was willfully absent, the head
man was fined or imprisoned. A few cases of fines were sufficient. As soon
as they found the captain in earnest, the children were all in school. .
. .”
(Page 257, "Report
of Sitka School")
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Tlingit
mission students pose with Sheldon Jackson on porch of Sheldon Jackson Institute |
- Why weren't Native-American youth permitted to speak their own languages?
- Were the measures taken to insure school attendance by Captain Glass appropriate?
Why or why not?
- How do you suppose Native American communities regarded such policies that
restricted language and enforced attendance?
- What can you infer from these agents' reports about attitudes they held
regarding Native American students?
"Part
5: Negatives and Positives," of Marr's
essay includes reminiscences of Native-American students and discusses
the overall impact of Indian schools. The Collection
Connection for Prosperity and Thrift: The Coolidge Era and the Consumer Economy,
1921-1929, discusses the movement to Americanize immigrants in the early
twentieth century. Were the efforts to assimilate Native Americans different
from efforts to assimilate other groups of people? If so, how and why?
Chronological
Thinking
Articles such as "Contributions
of Early Explorers and Traders to the Ethnography of the Northwest" and "Lawyer
of the Nez Perces" provide a rough outline of the major forces and
events that forever changed Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. Use
the explanations and references in these and other texts to create a timeline
of the major events that had an impact on native populations, from their first
contact with explorers to their legal battles of the twentieth century. Alternately,
conduct searches for materials pertaining to one tribal group and piece together
a chronology of events affecting that group.
Tlingit
women pick berries with a dog, Baranof Island Alaska |
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Several essays in the Special
Presentation discuss the cultures of specific tribal groups. Among
other things, they describe the cycles of migration and subsistence activities
that coincided with the seasons. Create a map that depicts the yearly round
of a particular tribal group. The collection's Maps
of the Region, may be helpful.
- Many Native American cultures embrace a cyclical rather than a linear
concept of time. Why do you think this might be?
- How did Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest think about and record
history? How are these records different from western historical records?
- How might a cyclical concept of time have contributed to the way Native
Americans felt about and dealt with the appearance of Euro-American people
and culture?
- How might different concepts of time have contributed to misunderstandings
between Euro Americans and Native Americans?
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Tlakluit
Indian rock paintings, Wishram, Washington |
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Historical Comprehension: The Nez Perces
- According to J.F. Santee, how and why did the Nez Perces refrain from
joining in conflicts related to the murder of Elijah Hedding and the Whitman
massacre? Which tribes were involved in these conflicts?
- How did the Nez Perces feel about signing the treaty of 1855?
- Why might the Nez Perces have provided escorts for Governor Stevens
during the Yakima war?
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Nez
Perce man named Chief Lawyer |
Nez
Perce Chief Joseph |
The U.S. government sought subsequent treaties
with the Nez Perces that would require them to give up their lands in the
Wallowa Valley and relocate to Lapwai, Idaho. A contingent of Nez Perces,
known as non-treaty Indians, refused to comply and in 1877 the U.S. led
a campaign to force these Nez Perces onto the Lapwai reservation. The Subject
Index heading, Nez Perce Indians – Treaties, provides primary
sources. The heading, Nez Perce Indians – War, 1877, provides
primary and secondary sources such as "The
Nez Perce and Their War," "The
Last Stand of the Nez Perces," and "Chief
Joseph and the Nez Perce Warriors." (The latter includes a helpful
map.)
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Nez Perce group known as "Chief Joseph’s Band" |
Nez
Perce man known as Steps poses for portrait |
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- Why did the U.S. government seek further treaties with the Nez Perces?
- Why did Chief Joseph oppose leaving the Wallowa Valley in Oregon?
- Why did he change his mind and agree to join other Nez Perces on their
reservation near Fort Lapwai in western Idaho?
- Why did Chief Joseph, Looking Glass, and other chiefs end up fighting?
- According to Merle Wells, what is the proper way to think of the Nez
Perces' actions and objectives during the 1877 military campaign?
- When and where were the major military engagements of the campaign?
- What casualties did the Nez Perces and U.S. military each sustain?
- What happened to the Nez Perces who were engaged in this campaign?
- How would you assess Chief Joseph's role in the Nez Perce War?
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Nez
Perce Chief Joseph's medal (Grant side) presented by President Grant in
1871 |
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- How many times was Chief Joseph's band relocated after their surrender
in 1877?
- On what grounds did the U.S. government refuse to return Chief Joseph's
band to the Lapwai reservation? Why did they eventually change their minds?
- What problems and hardships did this band of Nez Perces endure in the
period between their surrender in 1877 and their return to the Northwest
in 1885?
- What were the causes and effects of these hardships?
- How did Chief Joseph continue to lead his people after their surrender
in 1877? What did he accomplish?
- Why wasn't Chief Joseph allowed to return to Lapwai?
- How do Chief Joseph's recollections compare to other histories of the
Nez Perces?
- What points does Chief Joseph make in the North American Review to
argue for the return of the Nez Perces to Lapwai? How do you think the
public might have responded to this article?
- Why do you think that the Nez Perce War and Chief Joseph have each become
so famous?
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Historical Analysis and Interpretation: Photographs
and Symbols
Carolyn J. Marr discusses the history of photographing Native Americans of
the Pacific Northwest in "Taken
Pictures: On Interpreting Native American Photographs of the Southern Northwest
Coast." She illustrates a change in Native Americans' attitudes towards
photography from the late 19th to the early 20th century. At first, many Native
Americans were wary of having their photographs taken and often refused. They
believed that the process could steal a person's soul and disrespected the
spiritual world. Over time, however, some Native Americans came to cherish
photographs as links to ancestors and even integrated them into important ceremonies.
Duwamish
and Suquamish man named Chief Seattle
Skitswish
men James Nicodemus & Nickolas Campbell
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Marr defines five types of photographs
taken in this period. The first is the studio portrait. Marr explains that
Chief Seattle had to be coerced into having his portrait made. Once he had
it, the photographer made 100 copies to sell to curious easterners. Notwithstanding
many Native Americans' reluctance to have their picture taken, it's possible
that some sat willingly for their portraits and kept them for private use.
Numerous photographs are available by searching on studio
portrait.
- Is it possible to tell how much a photograph was influenced by the
photographer or by the subject?
- Can you determine if it was taken for private use or commercial purposes?
How does this change the meaning of the picture?
- If subjects sat willingly, what does the choice of clothes, pose, expression,
props, and backdrop suggest about how the subjects wanted to be perceived?
- If these choices were made by the photographer, what does it suggest
about how he wanted to portray Native Americans?
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Yakama
woman named Mrs. Thomas Pearne and her children Lester and Ida
Nez
Perce men in ceremonial dress
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The fourth kind of photograph Marr discusses is a nostalgic portrait to
be sold as a postcard or for other commercial purposes. (A search on postcards yields
a variety of images.) She writes:
"The popularity of picture postcards showing Indian women weaving baskets
or digging clams attests to a growing nostalgia relating to Indians. Historians
have demonstrated a conceptual link between the disappearing American wilderness
and a changing attitude toward Native Americas by looking at both popular
literature and the federal government's Indian policies. The Indian came to
symbolize America’s lost youth, and his image commemorated that unspoiled
past."
(Page 58, "Taken
Pictures: On Interpreting Native American Photographs of the Southern Northwest
Coast")
Duwamish
and Suquamish Chief Seattle bust |
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- According to Marr, what symbolic value did photographs of Native Americans
acquire and why?
- How have Native Americans been portrayed over the twentieth century?
- Where have these images been found? Who made them? How were they used?
What was the symbolic meaning of these images?
- Why do you think that the image of Native Americans has remained a powerful
symbol in popular U.S. culture?
- What aspects of Native American cultures might be particularly appealing
to some people in the U.S. and why?
- Why do you think that some people are particularly fascinated by the
history of Native Americans? What parts of this history seem to intrigue
people most and why?
- Why have certain Indians, such as Chiefs Joseph and Seattle, become
symbols while others have not? (For more information see David
M. Buerge's essay.
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Historical Issue-Analysis and Decision-Making
A thorough examination of the collection makes it possible to assess the
United States' decision to create reservations. The article, "American
and British Treatment of the Indians in the Pacific Northwest," provides
a good starting point. Consider the following questions:
- What parties had a stake in how the U.S. would choose to relate with Native
Americans? What were these parties' interests?
- What problems did the U.S. hope to solve in creating an Indian policy?
- How do you think the creation of reservations addressed these problems
and responded to a variety of interests? What priorities does this policy
reflect?
- What kind of policy would you have chosen and why? What steps would you
have taken to implement it? What resistance would you have met and how would
you have dealt with it?
Catholic
services, "Ceremony of Tears" commemorating loss of salmon habitat
to building of Grand Coulee Dam
Puget
Sound area men fishing from wooden platform |
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The article, "Rights
of the Puget Sound Indians to Game and Fish" examines the rights
of one Washington tribal group. The treaty
of Point Elliot guaranteed the Puget Sound Indians "'The right
of taking fish at usual and accustomed grounds and stations. . . in common
with all citizens of the Territory.'"
- Is Native Americans' equal right to fish denied if commercial fishing
depletes this natural resource? Should fishing by non-Native Americans
be controlled so as to insure that Native Americans may fish successfully?
- According to the author, how was the requirement to obtain a fishing
license discriminatory against Native Americans? Does this interfere with
their right to fish "in common with all citizens"?
- Should Native Americans' right to fish be regarded differently because
they depend upon fishing for their sustenance or because of the special
significance of fish to some native cultures?
- Do treaties give Native Americans a greater right to fish than other
people?
- Should citizens be required to allow Native Americans to hunt and fish
on their land because it was a "usual and accustomed" fishing
ground for Native Americans at the time a treaty was signed, even if it
is fifty or sixty miles from a reservation? Does this interfere with property
rights? Which is more important?
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The article, "Washington
State and Tribal Sovereignty: A 1979 Debate on Indian Law" explores
the scope of the power, or sovereignty, of a reservation government. For
example, do reservation laws apply to non-Native American inhabitants of
reservations? If a Native American breaks a law when off of reservation
lands, is he or she under the jurisdiction of reservation, state, or federal
laws?
The article records an extended argument made by the then Washington
state attorney general, Slade Gorton. He argues that the sovereignty of
a reservation government is, like city or county governments, subordinate
in some ways to state and national governments. He argues that the sovereignty
of reservation governments is not inherent, but for all intents and purposes
granted by the United States. He compares treaties with Native Americans
to the peace treaty made with Japan after World War II, in which the Allied
forces that had occupied Japan after its defeat recognized the sovereignty
of the Japanese people over Japan:
"The assertion of sovereignty by the United States effectively
eliminated all tribal powers. By treaty, some were restored, just as Japan's
sovereignty was effectively restored by its peace treaty."
(Page 101, "Washington
State and Tribal Sovereignty: A 1979 Debate on Indian Law")
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Nez
Perce man named Richard Sandiville |
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- Do you think that Gorton's comparison is sound? When Native-American
tribes signed treaties, were they admitting defeat by a sovereign power
and looking to have their sovereignty restored?
- Do you think that this is how the U.S. government viewed the situation?
Do you think that this is how Native-American tribes viewed the situation?
- Do you think that the government officials who created treaties thought
that Native Americans would practice self-government on reservations? Do
you think that Native Americans had this expectation?
- Does the subjection of tribal sovereignty to state or federal sovereignty
interfere with Native Americans' right to self-government, which was established
in 1934?
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Two
Yakama couples outside a Seattle hotel |
Historical Research
Tlingit
people gather on beach for potlatch |
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Multiple essays in the Special
Presentation explain the potlatch ceremony and discuss its importance
to Native American cultures of the Pacific Northwest. A search on potlatch provides
materials that support research into this tradition, including scholarly
articles and images that testify to the persistence and eventual revival
of the ceremony.
Though the U.S. military fought numerous Native-American tribes in many
wars during the second half of the 19th century, the ordeal most often
associated with this time period is the Civil War. Researchers may use
this collection to explore the similarities and differences between these
conflicts and how they may have affected each other. The Subject
Index heading, Indians of North America--Wars, provides many
materials. Questions to consider include the following:
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Tlingit
dancers at potlatch, Klukwan, Alaska |
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- What were the motives, goals, strategies, and resources of the U.S.
government in each conflict?
- How did newspapers cover wars with Native Americans and the Civil War?
What may account for any differences?
- What was the public opinion of each kind of conflict? What may account
for very different attitudes towards these arenas of violence?
- What is the significance of the difference in location of these campaigns?
How did the location contribute to the nature, newspaper coverage, and
popular opinion of these campaigns?
- How might these conflicts have affected each other?
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Cowichan
men and boys having tug-of-war at potlatch |
Folklore
The collection includes a number of different Indian folk tales compiled
and published by the University of Washington, such as "Some
tales of the southern Puget Sound Salish" by Arthur C. Ballard and "Klallam
folk tales" by Erna Gunther. Many of the essays in the Special Presentation
include Indian folklore such as creation stories and popular coyote tales associated
with different cultural groups. For example, Jay Miller’s "Salmon,
the Lifegiving Gift" contains three tales, including "Coyote
Spreads Salmon Along The Columbia River." Search on folklore and mythology for
additional myths and folktales.
"Coyote
severs Monster’s heart with his flint knife."
Illustration from "Nez
Perce Coyote Tales: The Myth Cycle" |
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- What can you learn about the beliefs and values of a people from their
myths and folktales?
- Why do you think that animals are so often included in Native-American
folklore?
- Why do you think coyote stories are among the most popular folktales?
- Why do you think that the authors of the Special Presentation essays
included so many folk tales in these essays?
- What purposes did folk tales serve in Native-American cultures? What
purposes do stories serve in U.S. popular culture?
- What is the difference between having a story told to you and having
one read to you?
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Museum Exhibit
This collection has a unique variety of materials.
Not only does it have both visual and textual primary sources, but it has
many secondary sources as well. By creating a museum exhibit, one can explore
the relationship between primary and secondary sources and learn first-hand
how the presentation of information affects how it is understood.
Select a topic that is well documented in the collection, such as missionaries,
Native Americans and Christianity, Native-American arts and crafts, canoes,
fishing, totem poles, treaties, Indian schools, or folklore. Search the
collection for pertinent primary and secondary sources. To browse secondary
sources, search on Pacific
Northwest Quarterly and Publications in Anthropology. Print
out and arrange images and textual excerpts using the following questions
(don’t forget to cite your sources in captions):
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- What is your job as a museum exhibit curator? What do you want visitors
to learn? What kind of experience do you want them to have?
- What is the value of primary and secondary sources? What would museum
visitors miss out on if they saw only one or the other?
- How will you present your materials? Will there be a chronological,
thematic, or some other type of order?
- What is the benefit of presenting a primary source first, and then
a secondary source related to it? What is the benefit of the reverse order?
- How will you begin and end your exhibit? What is the role of materials
placed at the beginning and end of an exhibit?
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Athapascan
Indian fish drying, Quartz Creek, Alaska |
Chinook
burial canoe, at mouth of Columbia River |
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"When the pioneers arrived a hundred years ago, the familiar Nootkan
(or Chinook) canoe was already the most widely used type on the Northwest
Coast. It dominated the outer coast from Queen Charlotte Sound to Tillamook
Bay and was admired and coveted by all the up-Sound and lower Columbia
and Fraser River people. The faintly animal-like head, poised and alert,
the flat bottom and almost level sheer, and the simple yet beautiful stern "knob"of
this model are seen in public print almost weekly..."
(Page 33, "Canoes
from Cedar Logs: A Study of Early Types and Designs")
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Crafts
Cowlitz basket by Mary Kiona |
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The wealth of photographs depicting
various Native-American crafts provides an opportunity to discuss craft
and the distinction often made between art and craft. Access these photographs
by searching on
such terms as basket, blanket, canoe, clothing, rattle, weaving,
and woodcarving. Compare the crafts of different tribes by selecting
pertinent headings in the Subject
Index such as Snohomish Indian--crafts, Nez Perce Indian--crafts,
and Tlinget Indian--crafts. Use the following questions to conduct
an in-depth discussion.
- What can you learn about a people from their crafts?
- What is the purpose of craft? What is the purpose of fine art?
- Where do we find arts and crafts in society? How are they made? Who
sells them and who buys them? How much are they worth?
- Is something less artistic or precious because it has an everyday use
and function?
- Is an artistic object less creative if the creator must take function
into account?
- Is the object less creative if the creator is working within a stylistic
tradition?
- Is something less valuable if it is not a one-of-a-kind object -- if
there are many people who can make it or something like it? Is it less
special?
- Fine art could be said to express an individual's personality and ideas,
while craft could be said to express cultural beliefs and traditions.
Is one more meaningful than the other? Are they mutually exclusive?
- Is the literal meaning or the aesthetic beauty of an object more important?
- Which works of art are most similar to crafts? Which crafts are most
similar to fine arts? Why?
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Native
American women making baskets |
Tlingit
man painting totem pole
Two
Nez Perce women, Colville Indian Reservation
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Chilkat
blanket, Alaska
Tlingit
canoe with winged figurehead
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Totem Poles
Haida
totem pole, Howkan village
Haida
totem poles and houses, Kasaan, Alaska, ca. 1913 |
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Perhaps the most iconic of Native-American
arts and crafts is the totem pole. However, these columns that have come
to symbolize Native Americans in general, were originally found only in
the Pacific Northwest. In fact, many of the popular representations of totem
poles are based on just one or two original poles from this region. This
and other information about the meaning of totem poles and their use within
and without the Northwest is available in Dr. Robin K. Wright's essay, "Totem
Poles: Heraldic Columns of the Northwest." Search on totem
pole for over 200 photographs reflecting the arts of Native Americans
of Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington.
- What are the different kinds of totem poles and what tribes made them?
- Why did the use and size of totem poles increase in the 19th century?
- Why did the creation of totem poles all but cease at the end of the
19th century?
- Why do you think that Dr. Wright included "The Story of North
Island" in her essay?
- Why are few poles still in their original locations? What is the difference
between viewing a pole in its original location and in some other location?
- Why is it important to know the history of a pole?
- How have people used totem poles in the 20th century? Have these uses
changed or expanded the meaning of totem poles?
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Gitksan
totem poles, grave houses and dwellings |
Kwakiutl
totem pole in front of house |
While the images on some poles reflect themes, many represent ancestors and
supernatural beings associated with ancestors. Taken together, these symbols
can tell stories.
Use symbols representing your own family and its stories to decorate an object
that is meaningful to your family, such as the cover of a photo album, or a
box that holds keepsakes.
- What sorts of objects in your room or house convey the identity, status
or history of yourself or your family?
- How else do people convey this information?
Creative Writing
From Russian, Spanish, French, and British fur traders to American settlers,
a variety of people joined Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest. How did
this confluence of cultures shape the settlement of the region? What were the
early towns of the Northwest like? Using your knowledge of the history of the
region, write a short story set in an early Northwest town. Items such as the
following may provide starting points.
Woman
buying baskets from a Native American woman |
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The section
on Chief Seattle in David M. Buerge's essay "Chief
Seattle and Chief Joseph: From Indians to Icons" describes the
way Chief Seattle encouraged Euro Americans to settle and trade among his
people. This brief history hints at the character of the community that
emerged from Chief Seattle's invitation and became his namesake.
Photographs provide evidence of cultural interactions in a variety of
locations. For example, a photograph taken in Seattle, Washington depicts
a Euro-American woman buying a basket from a Native-American woman on the
street. A photograph of Sitka, Alaska shows Native-American women selling
their goods down the street from a Russian Orthodox Church. Use the Geographic
Location Index to browse images by location or search on
words such as town, city, street, and store.
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- What is the name of the town you are writing about and where is it
located?
- Why do you think that a community developed in this particular location?
- What different groups of people live in this town?
- Where do they live in relation to each other and to town landmarks
like ports, roads, trading posts, and markets?
- When and why did these people settle here?
- What do people in this town do for subsistence, employment, or recreation?
- What sorts of resources does the town offer its inhabitants and visitors?
- Where and why do people from different cultures interact within this
town?
- What are these interactions like?
- How does the multiculturalism of this town affect its atmosphere? Do
people live and interact peaceably with each other? Are there conflicts?
Are people segregated from each other?
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Group
of Suquamish Indians waiting at Colman Dock |
Tlingit
women selling goods on sidewalk |
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