Kwakiutl Indians

The Northwest Coastal Indians, Kwakiutl, lived in what is now Alaska along the Pacific Ocean down the coast to Northern California. The environment was very diverse and often extreme which included a rugged strip of land with small islands, deep inlets, inland rivers and lakes, deep fjords, and wide and narrow beaches. Mountains rise to the shore in many places. Spruce, cedar, and fir forests dominated the area supplying endless amounts of wood. All the people lived near the water and relied heavily on the water for survival. Temperatures were moderate, which allowed the people to fish all year. There was access to the Pacific Ocean for fishing and collecting food like clams and shellfish. Salmon was the most important food.
The Kwakiutl tribe was very intelligent people who were able to develop a strong and dependent society by creating multiple uses of the dense woods, coastal rivers, and the ocean. Their adaptive strategy used in the northwest pacific surrounding was so unique and complex that the tribe could function systematically on their own. From the abundant supply of food from the waters around them, agriculture was not necessary to them in this area, even though the dense wild life had plenty of vegetation to offer from the nuts and berries to hunting animals for their hide. However, they did not hunt to stock up on food but more for the warm useful hides of the animals to have more clothing through the year. However, they were able to create other useful clothing out of cedar bark. There was many things made from the cedar bark such as woven baskets, shirts, everyday skirts for the women, the cedar tree was a big part of this culture. The items that they held prize possession to were items that were hand crafted and designed by the people. These extraordinary art crafts are highly decorative and in this present day pieces of the Kwakiutl culture have been left behind and put in museums to be looked at by people. The Kwakiutl were a fascinating tribe