GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The societies of the Northwest coast of North America developed between the Coastal Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. In relative isolation, they lived in fiords and islands in small communities and utilized the huge cedar forests to build elaborate totem poles. Their skill and favor for carving extended to include all areas of life on the coast. In ornately carved canoes, they could travel across the ocean for hundreds of miles, in order to hunt fish and whales, and also for trade or war. By controlling the sea, chieftains gained considerable wealth, which was celebrated and distributed to followers at elaborate feasts known as potlatches. A central part of potlatches was masking, a performance art that was commonly practiced on the coast; during the potlatch, mythic stories of ancestors were performed in longhouses before the tribe and their guests. Some masks were designed to transform from one form to another mid-dance, an essential part of Northwest Coast storytelling.
Adapted from
"Native North America, an introduction: The Northwest Coast," The British Museum: Khan Academy, 2015, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/native-north-america/beg-guide-native-am-1600/a/native-north-america-an-introduction (accessed 28 October 2015).
NOTES
ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS
- Klickitat
- Kwakiutl
- Tlingit
- Wakashan
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- University of Washington: University Libraries~Read more about the Pacific Northwest.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read about Northwest Coast Indians Musical Instruments.
- Khan Academy~Read about Northwest Coast Transformation Masks.
- Khan Academy~Read about masks and Wolf Dance ceremony among the the Nuu-Chah-Nulth.
- Khan Academy~Read about potlatches and animal ancestor masks among the Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka'wakw).
- Milwaukee Public Museum~Read more about the Kwakiutl.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
SET OPERATOR AS OR
apply to OBJECTS where culture contains Haida AND department_id equals 8
apply to OBJECTS where culture contains Klickitat AND department_id equals 8
apply to OBJECTS where culture contains Kwakiutl AND department_id equals 8
apply to OBJECTS where culture contains Tlingit AND department_id equals 8
apply to OBJECTS where culture contains Wakashan AND department_id equals 8
Category
rules_operator
OR
General Description
The societies of the Northwest coast of North America developed between the Coastal Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. In relative isolation, they lived in fiords and islands in small communities and utilized the huge cedar forests to build elaborate totem poles. Their skill and favor for carving extended to include all areas of life on the coast. In ornately carved canoes, they could travel across the ocean for hundreds of miles, in order to hunt fish and whales, and also for trade or war. By controlling the sea, chieftains gained considerable wealth, which was celebrated and distributed to followers at elaborate feasts known as potlatches. A central part of potlatches was masking, a performance art that was commonly practiced on the coast; during the potlatch, mythic stories of ancestors were performed in longhouses before the tribe and their guests. Some masks were designed to transform from one form to another mid-dance, an essential part of Northwest Coast storytelling.
Adapted from
"Native North America, an introduction: The Northwest Coast," The British Museum: Khan Academy, 2015, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/native-north-america/beg-guide-native-am-1600/a/native-north-america-an-introduction (accessed 28 October 2015).
Fun Facts
TEACHING IDEAS
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- University of Washington: University Libraries~Read more about the Pacific Northwest.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read about Northwest Coast Indians Musical Instruments.
- Khan Academy~Read about Northwest Coast Transformation Masks.
- Khan Academy~Read about masks and Wolf Dance ceremony among the the Nuu-Chah-Nulth.
- Khan Academy~Read about potlatches and animal ancestor masks among the Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka'wakw).
- Milwaukee Public Museum~Read more about the Kwakiutl.
Notes
source file
time_and_place-0065.xml.nores