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Traders – Spanish, Russian, British and American – did business in the North American continent in the early 1800s. In 1808, the Northwest Company (British) was trading at Ft. George on the Fraser River in Canada. After the Northwest Co. merged with the Hudson Bay Co. in 1821, the Hudson Bay Co. opened posts at Fort Colville in present-day Washington State; Vancouver in what is now British Columbia; and Fort Langley in Canada on the Fraser River. Later, a post was established at Fort Nisqually located in southern Puget Sound, between Tacoma and Olympia, although no record appears of early trade with Whidbey Island Indians.

French Catholic Missionaries, Rev. Frances N. Blanchet and Re. Modest Demers, came overland from Montreal reaching Vancouver on November 24, 1838. Father Demers celebrated the first mass in Fort Nisqually on April 22, 1939 while father Blanchet arrived at the Cowlitz River on March 17, 1839. News of the Catholics arrival spread among tribes. Chief Tslalakum traveled from Whidbey Island to the Catholic mission on the Cowlitz River to meet Blanchet in Aril 1839. Tslalakum received instruction in the Christian religion, learning songs and ceremonies, and receiving a copy of the ‘Catholic ladder.’ The Chief returned to Whidbey. He sent a party, headed by his wife, to Nisqually to invite Father blanchet to Whidbey Island to instruct his people in the new religion.

On May 26, 1840, father Blanchet arrived in Whidbey to continue his work among the native peoples. Rev. Blanchet was surprised to find the Indians already knew the hymns and prayers he had taught their chief.

The symbols and ceremonies of the Catholic Church were “far more appealing to native people than the ministry of the others.” The altar vestments, sacred vessels, burning of incense, melodious tone of the service, and the visual ceremonies commanded more attention than “the cold, unavailable, long lay services” of the Methodist missionaries. Catholic missionaries were not seen as settlers nor did they appear to be the front guard of settlers as were several Protestant missionaries. The native peoples did not perceive the same degree of threat to their land.

The Catholic missionaries were flexible, and incorporating their message into terms the native people could understand. Father Demers constructed a visual teaching tool called the Catholic ladder (reference above) showing the chronology of the world and the history of Christianity from the Catholic viewpoint. The “ladder” and other visual aids helped the students understand and retain new, obscure concepts. These missionaries were skilled in blending concepts with native beliefs whenever possible.

The acceptance of the Catholic ministry on Whidbey Island was assured when a twenty-four foot cross was installed and blessed by a priest. A piece of this original cross is in the case by the Alexander blockhouse located on Whidbey Island Museum grounds. It is said that the upright piece of the cross is authentic, the crosspiece having been added later.

A Particular Friend, PENN’S COVE. Jimmie Jean Cook
A History of the State of Washington, Vol. I. Lloyd Spencer and Lancaster Pollard. BACK TO TOP

THE GOURMET DIET OF THE COASTAL SALISH

The Coast Salish people lived west of the Cascade Mountains between central Oregon and the southern portion of what is today British Columbia, Canada. They inhabited Whidbey and Camano Islands using their creativeness to ensure their survival.

Families spent the winter, November through March, in their villages. During the spring and summer months, family members moved about to temporary camps to obtain their winter food supply.

They hunted, fished, and gathered. Once collect-ed, the food was prepared and brought to the permanent home (village) where it was stored for the winter.

Their travel throughout the area in search of food opened up a way of life that was exciting and interesting. Their canoes took them across Puget Sound and up rivers into mountains. These adventures produced not only a wealth of food, but provided the colorful stories and creative songs.

There was a variety of ample food to be found in Puget Sound. Early spring was the time for herring. About April the ducks appeared on their way north. Each year the Salish returned to the same spot to farm for camas.

The salmon, which was a staple and the most important food item to the Coast Salish, began appearing about June. Using spears and dip nets, as well as weirs (fencelike wooden enclosures used in narrow streams) the Coast Salish caught king (Chinook), silver (Ska’swits) with the common name coho, humback (Ha’do) also called ink, sockeye, the reds, and dog (l’xwai) sometimes called chum. As well as salmon, they caught steelhead, trout, halibut, flounder, sole, skates, rays, smelt, herrings and cod. The women and children gathered shellfish from the beaches. Fish were plentiful and berries were found in abundance and gathered as a welcome addition to their diet.

The pursuit of food, the gathering, preparing and cooking allowed the people to travel throughout the islands, into rivers, and onto beaches for the shellfish. They even stalked beaver, bear, deer, and elk in the forests and mountains. The Coast Salish daily life was all about food. And there was an abundance in Puget Sound.

The ability to amass quantities of food and throw big feasts, potlatches, gave the families great status. The host, one person held the place of honor, was required to feed and house the guests, as many as several hundred. BACK TO TOP

COOKING

Coast Salish cooked either in a pit, on a spit or rack and/or in water (simmering). The cooking water necessitated watertight baskets or cooking boxes. The cooking boxes were made from a single plank of cedar and were tedious to make.

The cooking baskets were made of strong, straight, fine fibers found in the roots of the giant red cedar. To make the coiled basket one needed patience, endurance and skill.

They baked or steamed the food in the pit. The stones such as basalt or dense lava rocks that had been worn to a round shape were used in the pit as the stones needed to sustain high heat without exploding. Wet seaweed was used in the steaming.

The spit or skewers used in spit cooking was made from iron wood and only iron wood could endure the intense heat. To build a barbecuing spit or use a split-pole barbecue rack took time and effort. It was an art.

The salmon large, rich in oil and with firm flesh lent itself to a variety of ways to preserve and cook. It was barbecued whole on a rack and as pieces of serving size. Baking an imu or pit was also a popular way to cook whole salmon. Seaweed an inch thick was placed directly on the hot rocks. The salmon, wrapped in the foliage of bracken ferns, was laid on the hot rocks with seaweed over and under the fish. Salmon was also dried and smoked to preserve it.

Cod, along with other bottom fish, lent variety, but the cod usually were cooked on a rack or in an imu, pit, due to their delicate flesh. Halibut, large enough to feed the whole village, were highly prized. The fish was cut into serving size, threaded on iron wood spits, and placed a few inches over to the hot coals for careful cooking.

Herring and smelt runs were immense. These fish were hung to dry and smoke. The fish were not cleaned so that when the dried fish was served the following winter it was up to the eater to avoid the entrails. The herring eggs, as good as caviar, were gathered on cedar branches that had been laid in the water.

Most clam chowder was prepared in the winter using dried, powdered clams. For cooking fresh clams, the imu pit was used by placing a heavy layer of seaweed on the hot rocks and placing the clams on top. Oysters were few and were difficult to harvest. After breaking them from the rocks they were baked in a pit. Besides eating mussels, the Salish utilized their powdered shells for protection from sunburn.

Deer was energetically sought for the meat. The Salish boiled, barbecued using a spit, or roasted the dear meet in the imu fire. Dried venison or jerky was another popular method of preparing meat. The deer tallow was used for face cream.

Bear was only hunted when berrying as the Salish were water people and rarely ventured into the mountains. Small animals such as rabbits, squirrels, fox and beaver were popular. Kitchen middens were filled with their bones.

In the spring and fall the ducks and geese were plentiful. Stewing was a preparation method as was barbecuing. The main difficulty with birds was removing the pinfeathers. While the fowl was on the spit the feathers signed and possibly burned away. Or one could bake duck. It was said that roast duck was juicy and did not require plucking.

There were other creatures found to be good eating: brant, herons, sea gulls, and seal. The seal was also valued for the oil.

The Coast Salish had a reputation as fish eaters, but they were more. They owned and planted crops. Camas fields come to mind, but they enjoyed a variety of vegetables including roots, stems and leaves. Bracken ferns, lady fern and cattail roots were staples. These were roasted or preserved by pounding and drying for the long winters.

Wapato was a basic for some Salish. Since wapato grows submerged in water, the harvesting was done while kneeling in a canoe and pulling the roots after clearing the area of other swamp growth. Chocolate lily grew on meadows and was easily recognized. The bulblets that cover the bulb look like rice. When steamed in a pit, they are tender and delicate. Licorice fern roots had a licorice flavor as one would guess by the name. Water lily, with its yellow cups had starchy roots that were baked or roasted, skinned and eaten. The Salish utilized the water lily as a tonic for a variety of ailments. Skunk cabbage’s strong taste required extra special treatment to make the root, stock and leaves appetizing. In the swampy areas wild rice used to grow. Again, like the wapato, the harvesting was done from shallow-draft canoes. They beat the rice stalks, tossed the rice into the air from trays to clean it, and steamed it in water made hot with hot rocks.

Pig weed, miner’s lettuce or Indian lettuce, clover, sheep sorrel, glasswort, cow parsnip or wild celery, nettles, etc. were found in the wet woodlands and meadows. It was a daily chore for the plants to be gathered for the everyday menu. These greens were valued for nourishment, flavor or texture.

Berries were cherished as they provided a change in the diet. To collect them, the Salish used special baskets woven during the winter months. Salmonberry, a bit tasteless, were dried for the winter and eaten fresh. Another berry, the thimbleberry, was also not particularly liked, but was utilized as food.

Then there was the prized huckleberry. The evergreen huckleberry the tall blue, the black mountain known as the blueberry were all gathered. The salal berries were dried and pressed into cakes. The soapberry, buffaloberry, russet buffaloberry or soopalalallie was a favorite. They were harvested and whipped into a much-desired dessert.

The Coastal Salish had a plethora of berries: the wild strawberry, wild blackberry, evergreen black-berry, black cap, Saskatoon or serviceberry and rose hips.

Drying was a popular way to preserve these precious fruits and they had drying down to an art. As all berries could be dried, some were more desirable than others. Berries with a small amount of water and some skin to hold the berry together were easier to dry. The women used flat trays they had woven. The berries were placed on the trays and put in the sun during the day and taken inside at night so that the dew would not moisten them. When almost dry, the berries were pressed into cakes and cured in the sun or by smoking. They were kept in covered baskets to keep them dry. The berry cakes were broken into bits and placed on hot rocks to restore them. They could also be eaten dried like one eats raisins today.

Teas were popular with the Coast Salish. Mint, huckleberry, nettle, madrona bark, wild cherry bark, wild blackberry, and wild strawberry all made delicious teas. Some of the berry teas were used for their medicinal value. The wild cherry bark was used to cure a bad cough. The madrona bark boiled was thought to cure diarrhea as was the wild blackberry and wild strawberry. For a sachet they used the elephant ear or vanilla leaf because of aromatic property. The Salish made teas of clover, tansy and groundsel. There was Oregon tea or Indian tea and berry punch, a sweet fruit made from berries mixed with honey.

Condiments were not lacking in the Coast Salish cooking. Oolachan grease, an oil pressed from the oolachan fish, was used like butter. It is rich and full of nutrition. It does have a strong taste that was pleasing to the Salish. Iron rwood or ocean spray leaves flavored soups. Nodding onion was added to enhance stews or soups. When oolachan was not available, salmon egg oil was used. On occasion, bear fat or seal oil were oolachan substitutes.

The Coast Salish were gourmets. The seas, bays, coves, estuaries, mountains and forests provided a large quantity of food. The Salish developed clever ways to gather, prepare and preserve the food that nature provided. Their menus were varied, balanced and nutritious. The cooking was efficient and practical. The Salish were comfortable with nature, respecting the animals and plants that made up their diet. We could learn from them in our present effort to “return to nature.”

Northwest Native Harvest. Carol Batforf
Tradition & Change on the Northwest Coast. Ruth Kirk BACK TO TOP
The Coast Salish Peoples. Frank W. Porter.

The summer abodes of the Coast Salish were temporary lodges built of rushes or bark, for little shelter was needed except for the winter when the weather was cold and rainy for long periods of time, permanent houses were built. Cedar planks two or three feet wide and from three to six inches thick were cut with crude wedges made of elkhorn or with chisels of beaver teeth and flint. From these planks and logs rectangular houses 40 to 100 feet or more in length and 14 to 20 feet wide were built. The only opening other than a single door was the one left along the ridge-pole to permit the escape of smoke. These long houses accommodated a number of families, each with its own small fire in the shallow excavation which ran length wise down the middle. Bunks lined the walls and four or five feet of earthen floor between them and the fire was the living space of each family.

A prominent feature of many of the houses was the central pit or trench from 1 to 5 feet deep and entered by steps or a ramp. Houses for more than one family had a number of fires placed along the sides of the building, the center being left open for a passageway. Two to four families used one fire. Smoke of the planks with long poles and bark was the principal fuel. The houses were sometimes divided into rooms by partitions running the full width of the building. Bed platforms, one to two feet high and three to four feet wide, ran around the walls of each family section. In front of these were low platforms for seats and beds for slaves, while above the beds were storage shelves, sometimes reached by ladders. Every house had a central rack built to the height of the walls on which fish were dried. Cattail mats lined the walls, lay on the floor, served as bedding and were hung up as partitions. The houses were very smoky and always were rather drafty. Houses passed from father to son and were burned or given away if the owner died in them.

The furniture was in the shape of built-in platforms which were bed and seat in one. Usually these went around three sides of each family compartment. They were about two feet from the ground floor and two planks wide, so that two people slept side by side. The bedding was furs and birdskins. Often there was a second bunk above the first or the bunks might be slightly higher than the platform in front where the women could sit and work. All the extra space was packed tight with baskets and boxes. Some were in the upper bunks if these were not used. Some were on shelves sung from the cross beams of the house. Often holes were dug in the earth under the lower row of bunks, where food could be kept at an even temperature. This meant combining cellar, attic, and all the other rooms in one small compartment. It might have been untidy but good housewives had a place for everything. Even the cooking stones, tongs, and boxes lying on the floor were as neatly arranged as in a kitchen cabinet. The place looked cozy for it was practically papered and carpeted with mats made of woven cattail reeds. They were used as carpets on the work platforms and as blanket or spreads on the bunks. They hung over the shelves and wall cracks. New ones were used as table mats or for a guest to sit on. Of course, they could not be washed so the housewife kept rolls of new ones ready. People judged a woman’s wealth by her supply of mats and she proudly showed rolls of extra mats which she kept ready for emergencies. BACK TO TOP

The story goes that a tribe had settled on the mainland shore, and in the course of time the son of the Chief committed a crime which called for either death or banishment. The young man chose the latter. He was taken in a canoe to the West, to the shore of an uninhabited island and there he was left with only a blanket. Even knowing how to build a fire, surrounded by food in the wild, and with a blanket to repel the chill, the young man was lonely. He missed the tribal campfire, his people, the communal dinners and the age-old stories told by his elders. As he sat alone, despairing, an inner voice spoke to him, telling him to make a winrow of seaweed on the beach. This he did, then wrapped himself in the blanket and went to sleep. At dawn he was awakened by a great cawing of crows, and he aroused himself to dig some clams for a meal. But there on the beach, in the place of the winrow seaweed, were ten young Indians, all with hair the color of seaweed, a light brown. The newly-created Indians were receiving their first lessons in language from the crows.

As told by a Skagit Indian to A.W. Arnold, a Whidbey pioneer and writer for the Island County Times. It was printed in 1896 under the title, “How the Skagit Indian Originated.”

By Canoe and Sailing Ship They Came. Neil, Doroth and Lee Brainard BACK TO TOP

A very strange bird with feathers of many colors once appeared in the ocean in front of the village. All the young men went out and tried to shoot the bird, but none could hit it. Every day Blue Jay, a slave of golden Eagle, watched the hunters in their efforts to shoot the bird. One day Golden Eagle said to Blue Jay, “My children can catch the strange bird,” to which Blue Jay replied, reminding him that “they are girls.” Golden Eagle’s daughters overheard them talking and the next day they went into the woods and stayed all day, and many days thereafter they spent in the woods making arrows, but told no one, as girls were considered to have other pursuits. Arrow making was the domain of men.

One morning before daylight they went out to the forest and collected their arrows, returning to the village after the hunters had gone out. The sisters disguised themselves, tying their hair over their faces so they would not be recognized. Waiting until the hunters gave up, the girls paddled their canoe in a zigzag line until they were near the bird. The elder of the two sisters killed it with her third arrow. They reported back to their father that they had killed the Bird of Many Colors and hidden it in the woods, and said they wanted to use its beautiful feathers as gifts. They asked Golden Eagle to have Blue Jay invite all the birds to their lodge on the morrow. After Blue Jay went out with the invitations, all kinds of birds began to gather in the lodge of Golden Eagle. “My daughters have caught the strange colored bird and want to give each of you a present,” he told them.

So it was that the Quillayute Indian girls gave certain colors to different birds: the yellow and brown feathers to Meadowlark; the red and brown to Robin; brown only to Wren; and yellow and black to the little Finch. They gave to each bird the colors that would identify it forever, and kept on giving until there were no feathers left. Ever since, certain birds have had certain colors, and since then, there have been Potlatches. The giving of colors to the birds was the first Potlatch, the giving of gifts from the people who invite to the people who are invited.

-Nisqually tribe myth. By Canoe and Sailing Ship They Came. Neil, Dorothy and Lee Brainard BACK TO TOP

Long ago, near the beginning of the world, Gray Eagle was the guardian of the sun and moon and stars, of fresh water, and of fire. Gray Eagle hated people so much that he kept these things hidden. People lived in darkness, without fire and without fresh water.

Gray Eagle had a beautiful daughter, and Raven fell in love with her. At the time Raven was a handsome young man. He changed himself into a snow-white bird, and as a snow-white bird he pleased Gray Eagle’s daughter. She invited him to her father’s lodge.

When raven saw the sun and the moon and the stars and fresh water hanging on the sides of Eagle’s lodge, he knew what he should do. He watched for his chance to seize them when no one was looking. He stole all of them, and a brand of fire also, and flew out of the lodge through the smoke hole.

As soon as Raven got outside, he hung the sun up in the sky. It made so much light that he was able to fly far out to an island in the middle of the ocean. When the sun set, he fastened the moon up in the sky and hung the stars around in different places. By this new light he kept on flying, carrying with him the fresh water and the brand of fire he had stolen. He flew back over the land. When he had reached the right place, he dropped all the water he had stolen. It fell to the ground and there became the source of all the fresh-water streams and lakes in the world.

The Raven flew on, holding the brand of fire in his bill. The smoke from the fire blew back over his white feathers and made them black. When his bill began to burn, he had to drop the firebrand. It struck rocks and went into the rocks. That is why, if you strike two stones together, fire will drop out.

Raven’s feathers never became white again after they were blackened by the smoke from the firebrand. That is why Raven is now a black bird.

-Told by a Puget Sound Tribe
Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest. Clark, Ella E. BACK TO TOP

Integral in the Native American way of life is the understanding that all things in the universe are connected. This approach to life and their heavy reliance on numerous plant and animal species for survival, leads to a strong belief in the supernatural and spiritual worlds. During winter, when humans and spirits drew close to the warmth of the fire and smoke in the large plank houses was a great time for ceremonies, speeches, singing, dancing and feasting; of reaffirming family identities, rights and properties. After the winter season was over, the carved totem poles outside of homes were constant reminders of the identity and rank of those inside.

Traditional and contemporary poles do more than identify those who dwell in a particular household. The Nuu-chah-nulth use welcome poles on the beach to welcome visitors who may be arriving for a feast or potlatch. Once inside the village, many poles were incorporated into the homes of high-ranking people and families. The Nuu-chah-nulth and Kwakwaka’wakw used two poles inside the homes of high-ranking chiefs. The Haida used a house frontal pole which stood up against the outside front of the house with the doorway to one side of the pole. House portal poles were also on the front of the house, but were placed in front of the door and had an oval cut out of the base for entry. These entrances were used by high-ranking guests and during significant ceremonies.

Memorial poles were used by the Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka’wakw), Nuu-chah-nulth and Nuxalk villages and generally raised in honor of a deceased chief. The pole would be elaborately carved with crests and figures that represented specific achievements in the life of the deceased, or carved with a single crest on the top or the bottom of the pole. The memorial pole would be raised by the succeeding chief who would also put on a memorial potlatch that would also serve to validate his new position. The year amount of time was needed for the successor’s family to prepare for the potlatch.

Also used to memorialize significant figures after death was the mortuary pole. Such a pole was used by the Haida and Tlingit, and rarely among the Tsimshian. This pole was created for those who died at high-rank. It was generally carved with crests of the deceased and had a large cavity in the upper end. In mortuary poles, the logs used were inverted with the smaller portion in the ground, allowing for the upper cavity to be of greater size. The Tlinget often cremated people of high-rank and in early times, the ashes were put in a box set on top of a plain mortuary pole. In later times, a carved crest figure, placed horizontally, replaced the box; and the ashes, in a small container, were placed in a niche at the back of the mortuary pole. Unlike the Tlinget, the Haida placed the body of a high-ranking individual into an elaborate box, which was then placed into a mortuary house. Only after a year, were the remains transferred to a smaller, undecorated box and then placed in the mortuary pole. The front of the open cavity was covered with a cedar board called the frontal board, which was decorated with the main crest of the deceased. The top of the cavity was covered with a board and had rocks placed on the top to protect the cavity from heavy winds.

Totem poles were also created to embarrass and make someone “lose face” as in the shame pole. Due to the aggressive nature of collectors at the turn of the century, shame poles can only be viewed in museums. Shame poles were often created by chiefs who wanted to shame another, most often, a rival. Only after a debt was paid or a peace was made did the shame pole come down.

Contemporary times have resulted in the need for a new kind of pole, the commercial pole. These are totem poles that are commissioned by non-natives. Often times, these poles follow tradition in art and technique. The raising of such a pole is marked by celebration and ceremony, often in non-traditional.

First totem pole seen by white man was in 1778 when explorer Captain James Cook went ashore with expedition officers and artist John Webber. Webber created the first non-native drawing of a totem pole that was published as an engraving in Cook’s three-volume A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean.

Early writings kept by traders and explorers rarely mention totem poles, implying that they were not as prominent during early contact. The sea otter trade brought increased wealth for nobility and with it, the ability to acquire European tools with which to make totem poles. The number of poles peaked along with Native American wealth in the mid 19th century. Numerous epidemics, most notably smallpox, decimated much of the native population. Those who survived where deluged with information from Christian missionaries. Many were persuaded to fall their traditional totem poles, sometimes using them for firewood. Combined with the ban of the potlatch in 1854 by the Canadian government, traditional uses for totem poles were all but obsolete.

Understanding the difficult situation of the totem pole and other cultural items and their potential value, museums became interested in acquiring such items. European and American institutions sent collectors to the Northwest Coast to persuade Native Americans to part with many ethnographic artifacts, including totem poles. Countless items exchanged hands during that time as collectors bartered and argued for the lowest prices. Between the 1870s and the 1920s hundreds of poles were bought and stolen from indigenous groups. Some were taken from seasonally vacant or abandoned villages. These purchased and stolen items were ordered and purchased by museums in Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York, Toronto, Montreal, Ottowa, London, Berlin, Paris, and even New Zealand.

In late 1920s anthropologist Marius Barbeau said of the totem poles he was studying, “This art now belongs to the past…totem poles are no longer being made.” A few years later, restoration began on totem poles as a way to increase tourism. The Canadian government began repainting, restoring and relocating totem poles for the benefit of railway passengers. Similarly, in Alaska, groups and individual poles were moved from their original locations and clustered in areas more easily accessible to tourists.

In 1950 the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver began a totem pole restoration project. Mungo Martin was hired to restore several Kwakwaka’wakw poles The group had continued to potlatch in secret after the Canadian government banned the activity in 1884 and as a result, had continued creating such cultural artifacts. After working at university museum, Hugo moved to the British Columbia Provincial Museum (now the Royal British Columbia Museum) and worked with his son, step grandson-in-law, and step great-grandson-in-law replicating Tsimshian and Haida poles.

The totem pole received another chance at return after the Canadian potlatch ban was lifted in 1951. The raising of a totem pole is often accompanied by a potlatch. With the ability to perform potlatches and create previously forbidden items,

Totem poles have enjoyed a rebirth in the last half century. They are created not only for native communities, but are also commissioned by non-native groups such as museums, corporations, governments, education centers, gift shops and individuals. Commissioned totem poles have been sent to eastern Canada, the United States (other than Alaska), Mexico, England, Denmark, West Germany, Argentina, China, Japan, Australia, and elsewhere.

Totem poles are generally decorated with images of animals, humans, and mythical creatures. Although not always anatomically correct, the images follow particular patterns and each has defining characteristics. For example, animals represented often have faces similar to those of humans, the difference being that animals are shown to have ears that are situated on top of their heads. Sometimes, even animals such as frogs have this defining characteristic. Below is a partial list of animals and mystic creatures that may be on Northwest totem poles with a brief explanation of how they may be identified.

Beavers are generally identified by their large incisor teeth; in addition, they are shown with a short nose that forms a sharp angle with the forehead when looked at from the side. Their waffle-textured tail often is turned up in front of the body. Often times, beavers are depicted holding a stick in their forepaws.

Sculpins are regularly depicted with two spines over its eyes, a long dorsal fin and a tail.

Hawks are easy to identify because of their large hooked beak that is curves so the slender tip touches the chin. Unlike the actual bird, hawks on totems often have a mouth detached from their beak, one that resembles a mammals with its numerous teeth showing.

Eagles are different from hawks in that their mouths are generally connected to their beaks. While the eagle’s beak is curved downwards, it is not turned back to touch the face. Totemic eagles usually have wings that begin at the outer portion of the body and extend inwards towards the middle of the body.

Dragonflys are easiest to identify because of their large, bulbous heads matched with their long, segmented bodies. They are represented with two sets of wings. Often given a human-like head, they have a spiral proboscis and animal ears.

Killer whales have a dorsal fin similar to that on the sculpin; but different in that it often has a white circle or stripe in the middle. Much attention is paid to the face of the killer whale. Their heads are generally elongated with a large, square mouth in the front. The nostrils are also elongated and high on the face. The Eyes are generally round but sometimes surrounded by elongated lid wines with sharp inner and outer corners. The distance from the mouth to the eyebrows is long as is the snout, which points downward. There is sometimes a blowhole represented by a circular spot over the forehead.

Bears are often noticeable because of their animated faces and large mouths with many teeth. The bear is generally depicted swallowing an animal or with its tongue protruding past its teeth and mouth. The nostrils are high on the face and sometimes represented by spirals and are similar to killer whales’ except that they are not so far back on the face. Bear paws are often large on totem poles.

Seamonsters seem to be a combination between bears and killer whales. It may have the head and body of a bear, but with fins attached at the elbows, or it may have the head of a killer whale and the body of a bear.

Frogs roughly resemble the actual animal and are represented with a large, wide mouth and a flat nose. Frogs generally do not have teeth, tails, or tail.

Sharks/ dogfish are often noticeable because of the series of circles and curved lines on each check that represent gills. Sometimes they are depicted with a large mouth that has the corners drawn down and sharp teeth. There will also be a pectoral fin to identify the animal as a fish.

Mountain goats are generally identifiab le because of their two slender horns and small hoofed feet.

Ravens have significant importance in the northwest coastal people and are often depicted on totem poles. They are identified by their long, straight beak having a blunt or short turned-down tip, and usually a tongue. Ravens sometimes have a circle in their beak to represent their giving light to the earth.

Thunderbirds was an image that only the most powerful and prestigious chiefs were allowed to have on their crests. The thunderbird is shown with outstretched wings. It has curled appendages on the top of the head and has a sharply recurved upper beak, similar to that of the Hawk. BACK TO TOP

Paul Kane, Canadian artist, arrived in Fort Vancouver December 8, 1846, and remained in the region until the 25th of March, 1847. He wrote this of his visit to a Native burial site.

March 29th [1847]
"We came to another Indian burial ground, which seemed to be highly decorated. I wished my Indians to put ashore, but they would not do so. I was obliged therefore, to put them out of the canoe on the opposite side of the river, and paddle the canoe over by myself. I have no doubt that they would have opposed my doing so had it not been for the name which I had already acquired amongst the Indians, of being a great medicine-man, on account of the likenesses which I had taken.

My power of pourtraying the feature of individuals was attributed entirely to supernatural agency, and I found that, in looking at my pictures, they always covered their eyes with their hands and looked through the fingers; this being also the invariable custom when looking at a dead person.

On arriving at the place I found it lavishly decorated with numerous articles, of supposed utility and ornament, for the convenience of the defunct in the journey to the world of spirits. These articles consisted of blankets, tin cups, pots, pans, kettles, plates, baskets, horn bowls, and spoons, with shreds of cloth of various colours. One canoe, which was decorated more highly than the rest, I examined particularly. All the articles appended to it were rendered useless for this world by either tearing, breaking, or boring holes in them, the Indians believing that they would be made whole again by the Great Spirit.

On examining the interior of a canoe I found a great number of ioquas and other shells, together with beads and rings: even the mouth of the deceased was filled with these articles. The body itself was carefully enveloped in numerous folds of matting made of rushes. At the bottom of the canoe lay a bow and arrow, a paddle, a spear, and a kind of pick, made of horn, for digging the camas roots; the top of the canoe immediately over the body, had a covering of bark, and holes were bored in the bottom to allow the water to run out. These canoes are always placed on wooden supports, suspended in branches of trees, or placed upon isolated rocks in the river, to keep them beyond the reach of ravenous animals.

"During my stay the Indians watched me closely from the opposite bank, and, on my return, they examined me as minutely as they well could with their eyes to see that I had not brought anything away with me. Had I been so imprudent as to have done so I should probably have answered for the sacrilege with my life, death being the certain penalty to the most trifling violation of the sanctity of the coffin canoe. I endeavoured to discover who was buried in the richly decorated canoe, but the only information I could get from them was that the deceased was the daughter of a Chinook chief.

The Indians here have a superstitious dread of mentioning the name of any person after death, nor will they tell you their own names, which can only be found out from a third party. One of the men asked me if my desire to know his name proceeded from a wish to steal it. It is not an uncommon thing for a chief, when he wishes to pay you a very high compliment, to give and call you by his own name, and adopt some other for himself" (Kane: 1925). BACK TO TOP

Treaty of Point Elliott, 1855

Articles of agreement and convention made and concluded at Muckl-te-oh, or Point Elliott, in the territory of Washington, this twenty-second day of January, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, by Isaac I. Stevens, governor and superintendent of Indian affairs for the saidTerritory, on the part of the United States, and the undersigned chiefs, head-men and delegates of the Dwamish, Suquamish, Sk-kahl-mish, Sam-ahmish, Smalh-kamish, Skope-ahmish, St-kah-mish, Snoqualmoo, Skai-wha-mish, N'Quentl-ma-mish, Sk-tah-le-jum, Stoluck-wha-mish, Sno-ho-mish, Skagit, Kik-i-allus, Swin-a-mish, Squin-ah-mish, Sah-ku-mehu, Noo-wha-ha, Nook-wa-chah-mish, Mee-see-qua-guilch, Cho-bah-ah-bish, and othe allied and subordinate tribes and bands of Indians occupying certain lands situated in said Territory of Washington, on behalf of said tribes, and duly authorized by them.

ARTICLE 1.

The said tribes and bands of Indians hereby cede, relinquish, and convey to the United States all their right, title, and interest in and to the lands and country occupied by them, bounded and described as follows: Commencing at a point on the eastern side of Admiralty Inlet, known as Point Pully, about midway between Commencement and Elliott Bays; thence eastwardly, running along the north line of lands heretofore ceded to the United States by the Nisqually, Puyallup, and other Indians, to the summit of the Cascade range of mountains; thence northwardly, following the summit of said range to the 49th parallel of north latitude; thence west, along said parallel to the middle of the Gulf of Georgia; thence through the middle of said gulf and the main channel through the Canal de Arro to the Straits of Fuca, and crossing the same through the middle of Admiralty Inlet to Suquamish Head; thence southwesterly, through the peninsula, and following the divide between Hood's Canal and Admiralty Inlet to the portage known as Wilkes' Portage; thence northeastwardly, and following the line of lands heretofore ceded as aforesaid to Point Southworth, on the western side of Admiralty Inlet, and thence around the foot of Vashon's Island eastwardly and southeastwardly to the place of beginning, including all the islands comprised within said boundaries, and all the right, title, and interest of the said tribes and bands to any lands within the territory of the United States.

ARTICLE 2.

There is, however, reserved for the present use and occupation of the said tribes and bands the following tracts of land, viz:the amount of two sections, or twelve hundred and eighty acres, surrounding the small bight at the head of Port Madison, called by the Indians Noo-sohk-um; the amount of two sections, or twelve hundred and eighty acres, on the north side Hwhomish Bay and the creek emptying into the same called Kwilt-seh-da, the peninsula at the southeastern end of Perry's Island, called Shais-quihl, and the island called Chah-choo-sen, situated in the Lummi River at the point of separation of the mouths emptying respectively into Bellingham Bay and the Gulf of Georgia. All which tracts shall be set apart, and so far as necessary surveyed and marked out for their exclusive use; nor shall any white man be permitted to reside upon the same without permission of the said tribes or bands, and of the superintendent or agent, but, if necessary for the public convenience, roads may be run through the said reserves, the Indians being compensated for any damage thereby done them.

ARTICLE 3.

There is also reserved from out the lands hereby ceded the amount of thirty-six sections, or one township of land, on the northeastern shore of Port Gardner, and north of the mouth of Snohomish River, including Tulalip Bay and the before-mentioned Kwilt-seh-da Creek, for the purpose of establishing thereon an agricultural and industrial school, as hereinafter mentioned and agreed, and with a view of ultimately drawing thereto and settling thereon all the Indians living west of the Cascade Mountains in said Territory. Provided, however, That the President may establish the central agency and general reservation at such other point as he may deem for the benefit of the Indians.

ARTICLE 4.

The said tribes and bands agree to remove to and settle upon the said first above-mentioned reservations within one year after the ratification of this treaty, or sooner, if the means are furnished them. In the mean time it shall be lawful for them to reside upon any land not in the actual claim and occupation of citizens of the United States, and upon any land claimed or occupied, if with the pe-mission of the owner.

ARTICLE 5.

The right of taking fish at usual and accustomed grounds and stations is further secured to said Indians in common with all citizens of the Territory, and of erecting temporary houses for the purpose of curing, together with the privilege of hunting and gathering roots and berries on open and unclaimed lands. Provided, however, That they shall not take shell-fish from any beds staked or cultivated by citizens.

ARTICLE 6.

In consideration of the above cession, the United States agree to pay to the said tribes and bands the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, in the following manner - - that is to say: For the first year after the ratification hereof, fifteen thousand dollars; for the next two year, twelve thousand dollars each year; for the next three years, ten thousand dollars each year; for the next four years, seven thousand five hundred dollars each years; for the next five years, six thousand dollars each year; and for the last five years, four thousand two hundred and fifty dollars each year. All which said sums of money shall be applied to the use and benefit of the said Indians, under the direction of the President of the United States, who may, from time to time, determine at his discretion upon what beneficial objects to expend the same; and the superintendent of Indian affairs, or other proper officer, shall each year inform the President of the wishes of said Indians in respect thereto.

ARTICLE 7.

The President may hereafter, when in his opinion the interests of the Territory shall require and the welfare of the said Indians be promoted, remove them from either or all of the special reservations hereinbefore make to the said general reservation, or such other suitable place within said Territory as he may deem fit, on remunerating them for their improvements and the expenses of such removal, or may consolidate them with other friendly tribes or bands; and he may further at his discretion cause the whole or any portion of the lands hereby reserved, or of such other land as may be selected in lieu thereof, to be surveyed into lots, and assign the same to suc individuals or families as are willing to avail themselves of the privilege, and will locate on the same as a permanent home on the same terms and subject to the same regulations as are provided in the sixth article of the treaty with the Omahas, so far as the same may be applicable. Any substantial improvements heretofore made by any Indian, and which he shall be compelled to abandon in consequence of this treaty, shall be valued under the direction of the President and payment made accordingly therefor.

ARTICLE 8.

The annuities of the aforesaid tribes and bands shall not be taken to pay the debts of individuals.

ARTICLE 9.

The said tribes and bands acknowledge their dependence on the Government of the United States, and promise to be friendly with all citizens thereof, and they pledge themselves to commit no depredations on the property of such citizens. Should any one or more of them violate this pledge, and the fact be satisfactorily proven before the agent, the property taken shall be returned, or in default thereof, of if injured or destroyed, compensation may be made by the Government out of their annuities. Nor will they make war on any other tribe except in self-defence, but will submit all matters of difference between them and the other Indians to the Government of the United States or its agent for decision, and abide thereby. And if any of the said Indians commit depredations on other Indians within the Territory the same rule shall prevail as that prescribed in this article in cases of depredations against citizens. And the said tribes agree not to shelter or conceal offenders against the laws of the United States, but to deliver them up to the authorities for trial.

ARTICLE 10.

The above tribes and bands are desirous to exclude from their reservations the use of ardent spirits, and to prevent their people from drinking the same, and therefore it is provided that any Indian belonging to said tribe who is guilty of bringing liquor into said reservations, or who drinks liquor, may have his or her proportion of the annuities withheld from him or her for such time as the President may determine.

ARTICLE 11.

The said tribes and bands agree to free all slaves now held by them and not to purchase or acquire others hereafter.

ARTICLE 12.

The said tribes and bands further agree not to trade at Vancouver's Island or elsewhere out of the dominions of the United States, nor shall foreign Indians be permitted to reside in their reservations without consent of the superintendent or agent.

ARTICLE 13.

To enable the said Indians to remove to and settle upon their aforesaid reservations, and to clear, fence, and break up a sufficient quantity of land for cultivation, the United States further agree to pay the sum of fifteen thousand dollars to be laid out and expended under the direction of the President and in such manner as he shall approve.

ARTICLE 14.

The United States further agree to establish at the general agency for the district of Puget's Sound, within one year from the ratification hereof, and to support for a period of twenty years, an agricultural and industrial school, to be free to children of the said tribes and bands in common with those of the other tribes of said district, and to provide the said school with a suitable instructor or instructors, and also to provide a smithy and carpenter's shop, and furnish them with the necessary tools, and employ a blacksmith, carpenter, and farmer for the like term of twenty years to instruct the Indians in their respective occupations. And the United States finally agree to employ a physician to reside at the said central agency, who shall furnish medicine and advice to their sick, and shall vaccinate them; the expenses of said school, shops, persons employed, and medical attendance to be defrayed by the United States, and not deducted from the annuities.

ARTICLE 15.

This treaty shall be obligatory on the contracting parties as soon as the same shall be ratified by the President and Senate of the United States.

In testimony whereof, the said Isaac I. Stevens, governor and superintendent of Indian affairs, and the undersigned chiefs, headmen, and delegates of the aforesaid tribes and bands of Indians, have hereunto set their hands and seals, at the place and on the day and year hereinbefore written.

Ratified Mar. 8, 1859. Proclaimed Apr. 11, 1859.