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How does the fact that Indian people in the late 18th and early 19th centuries did not leave written records affect what we know about the history of the period?Ĥ) Have students imagine that they are Tomas de la Peña or Juan Crespi. What kinds of sources might provide evidence about past events? How does the evidence provided by a newspaper article differ from that provided by a drawing, or letter?ģ) Ask students to think about how the evidence left by Indian peoples differs from the evidence left by European peoples. Ask students to think about how they know what they know about the past. Telephone to see if any nearby museums of anthropology or Native history have any exhibits that document contact between Europeans and Indians or the effect of such contact.Ģ) Hold an introductory discussion. The suggestions presented below are just that-suggestions.ġ) Consider a field trip to a local museum.

#Nootka indians series#

The unit could range from a week-long major assignment to a series of projects spanning several weeks. This ceremony would reenact the kidnapping of an ancestor by supernatural beings that gave him supernatural gifts and released him and would end with a potlatch.The documents in this packet can be used to supplement existing lesson plans, or they can form the basis of a new teaching unit about contact between Europeans and Indians along the Northwest Coast. The most important ceremony was the shaman dance.

#Nootka indians update#

The potlatch was a ceremony based on two aspects - to validate and update rank and the distribution of gifts. The social rank was reinforced by ceremony. In addition, the Nootka would make slaves out of war captives. This was determined by the principle of primogeniture (birthright of the eldest son). Society: Each Nootka was ranked in society. During warm times the men would only wear ornaments while the women would wear skirts made from cedar bark. In the coldest times people of great wealth would wear sea otter and bear furs, while people of low wealth wore robes made from raccoons, wildcats, and other small animals. The only difference between the clothing of men and women was that woman also had an additional bark apron that would extend from the waist to the knees. The Nootka would move to their principal home sites in the winter when hunting and gathering was slow.ĭress: The men and women of the Nootka wore cedar bark robes during cool time.

A whole years supply could be harvested and dried within a few weeks. The Nootka also gathered crab apples, roots, berries, and ferns. In late summer the villages would move to the mouths of rivers and streams to fish for salmon with nets.

Shellfish in the shore waters could be gathered with little exertion. Nootka Location: The Nootka lived along the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, and the northwest portion of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.ĭiet: In the early summer, the Nootka would move down to the coast to fish for halibut, herring, and cod along with hunting sea mammals. Like us to add to our archives, please contact us. If the author of this article would like to make changes to it, or if you are the author of another article you would

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