A Clash of Culture in the Pacific Northwest - Part 2

Along the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Coast, Indians of the foggy, woodland areas shared the belief in animal spirits as the center of religion like the Colville, but were totally different in their lifestyle.  Nootka and Clallam were war-like tribes and owned slaves. 

The waters of the Pacific Coast abounded in fish, and the Nootka would trade surplus fish for blankets and goods with other tribes who didn't have access to the sea such as the Chinook.  Unlike the Colville, they amassed possessions.  Their society was divided into commoners and nobles with a hereditary chief who owned the village land, the hunting and fishing grounds, and was served by slaves captured on raids.

A noble could use his hereditary title  only after performing a "potlatch": inviting guests he wished to  impress, boasting about his wealth, delivering speeches of self-praise, and then giving away much of his wealth to those who attended. The more he gave, the higher his status.  Sometimes he might kill his slaves to show he could afford to spare them!

How these people accounted for the abundance of salmon is quite interesting... they honored the Salmon Being and they believed that the salmon's spirit would go back to a submarine salmon house and there acquire new bodies for next year's spawning.  The first fish taken each year was ritually eaten at the Salmon Being  altar, the bones tossed back into the water so the fish would be reincarnated for next year's catch!  And we think our grandparents had some amazing stories to tell!

Next time...Oregon Fever

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Today in Pioneer History:  On January 16, 1919,   the 18th Amendent to the U.S Constitution, prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes" is ratified and becomes law.  The movement actually began as the "Temperance Movement" in the 1800s.

A Contrast in Culture in the Pacific Northwest

Along with the beautiful country of the Pacific Northwest, the settlers also found some of the most peaceful Indians on the earth, like the Colville who were typical of the peaceful tribes of this region.
They based their culture on peace and equality, avoiding wars with neighbors and even refusing to retaliate if attacked.  The concept of individual wealth was alien to their culture, jealousy and status-seeking a rarity. Everyone, even the chief was equal, there were no slaves, no rank or social hierarchy.

Colville gathered food as a community, sharing all as one.  The women gathered edible berries and bulbs, along with the moss and bark from trees to make gruel.   The men hunted birds, rabbits, mollusks and then played lacrosse, which was invented by Indians.  (Did you know that one?)

The salmon, of course, was important to their lives,  As soon as the salmon began leaping, the Colville built summer houses along the river bank.  They built "weirs (basket traps) and made their spears to ready for the salmon hunt.  The Salmon Chief determined the time for the Fish Guardian Spirit Ceremony. 

In the fall, the Colville moved to wooded areas to pick the ripe berries and hunt.  Sweat lodges were built to "purify themselves" in honor of their prey.  After the sweat lodge, they hunted bear, wolf, fox and antelope, sometimes driving the deer over cliffs.

In winter months, Colville retired to their permanent villages of 200 people each.  Each family had a longhouse made of grass and bulrush matting.  Cubicles ran down the sides, one for each couple.  Meals were prepared in the central aisle in watertight woven baskets rather than pottery, and cooking was done by dropping hot stones into the baskets.

Colville organized their lives around the villages which each had a chief, subchief and assembly.  The assembly included all men and women in the village and all had a voice.  The chief kept peace, gave wise counsel, and gave out punishment if needed.  In the winter, he would supervise the dances and holy rites along with the shaman or witch doctor.

The Colville religion revolved around guardian spirits, usually in animal form.  Before puberty each boy spent night-long vigils during which his guardian spirit would appear in a vision and become part of him for life, protecting and aiding him.

Next time - Contrasting Cultures - Part 2

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Today in Pioneer History: "On January 12, 1888, a Thursday afternoon,  the so-called “Schoolchildren’s Blizzard” kills 235 people, many of whom were children on their way home from school, across the Northwest Plains region of the United States. The storm came with no warning, and some accounts say that the temperature fell nearly 100 degrees in just 24 hours.

Who Owns Oregon?

Way back in 1791, Yankee "sea peddler" Robert Gray, master of the merchant vessel Columbia, sailed into Nootka Sound in Oregon Territory while pursuing the rich fur trade with China.  Gray was looking for a mighty river of which the Indians had spoken.  On May 11, 1792, Gray crossed the estuary and traveled 30 miles upstream on the river he named for his ship, the Columbia River.  He was the first white man to explore Oregon's interior and claim the entire region for America.

British claims date back to Captain Cook's 1778 voyage along the northwest coast.  He too, sailed into Nootka Sound.  The Nootka Sound Treaty of 1790 recognized Britain's claim to Oregon by Spain.  The British representative, John McLoughlin served from 1824 to 1846 as the chief factor of the Hudson Bay Company in the region stretching from the Alaska border to California and east to the Rockies.  McLoughlin's actual responsibility to the Crown was to discourage American competition and settlement in the region. 

The problem was McLoughlin knew the Americans had as much right to Oregon as anyone else.  In 1818, the entire region was to be jointly occupied by both the Americans and British.  McLoughlin's hospitality allowed travelers seeking help to use Fort Vancouver.  By 1864 the British were ready to concede American ownership of the region between the Columbia River and the Californian border but not above the 49th parallel.  That, they stated could be claimed only by war.  Washington Territory was not for sale!

Next time - Closer look at the men who opened up the Pacific Northwest
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Today in Pioneer History:  On December 8, 1894, humorist James Thurber is born in Columbus, Ohio.  His works include The Owl in the Attic (1931), The Seal in the Bedroom (1932), and My Life and Hard Times (1933). His short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” published in The New Yorker in 1939, became one of his best-known works.