A Little Peek at our Local Native Cultures

The Northwest is home to a great variety of Native American tribes, Northwest Coastal tribes and Alaska Native tribes. I'll try to get some of these names correct, forgive me if I miss any.

I grew up in Seattle (for the most part of my life anyway) and a great number of my friends were from the Tlingit (pronounced 'klinkit') and Haida (pronounced 'hyduh') tribes. These two are in the 'Alaska Native' category. Technically the Haida call the Queen Charlotte Islands off Canada's west coast, home, but they put themselves in that category. They also make it clear that they are not Eskimos! In fact, my second long time relationship was with a Haida gentleman.

They have a very strong sense of community and pride in their heritage, and there are Pow-wows (celebrations in dance and music and booths for selling handmade, beautiful artwork and jewelry) on a regular basis. Some of these gatherings are open to the public - Pow wow's, some are by invitation only, as one tribe may be hosting another, these are called 'Potlatches'. They have roots that run long and deep and though there is a feeling of joy and celebration and dancing contests, they take them very seriously.

I never did acquire a taste for some of their native foods, especially smelt roe on pine brances. "Mom" always made me a hamburger and "Dad" would laugh about how 'white' I was. It was all in fun and I really liked her hamburgers!

The place for visitors to get an idea of these cultures is Tilicum Village, on Blake Island.

Blake Island is located eight miles from Seattle's Central Waterfront and accessible only by private or charter boat, run by the Argosy Cruise Line. Blake Island has been established as a State Park and was an ancestral campground of the Duwamish and Suquamish Indian Tribes and is believed to be the birthplace of Chief Seattle. The island is is beautiful, densely wooded with many forested walking and hiking trails and five miles of beaches. Vegetation on the island includes native Northwest trees and shrubs. Wildlife on the island includes deer, squirrels, chipmunks, otters, and many types of birds. As a state park, the island also offers the opportunity for camping. I've never camped here, but the beach combing is great fun.

The tour boats leave from the waterfront in downtown Seattle.  On warm summer days there's always a line at the dock for tickets.

What can I tell you about the salmon dinners that these pictures miss?

The salmon are put on large sticks and set around a fire to cook/smoke. It's nothing short of amazing to smell. And even more amazing to eat.

Dancing is what I know most about this culture. They celebrate cultural history, wars, animals, the spirit of the animals. Ravens, beaver, bears eagles, are revered and honored in dance. They have masks and robes that are exquisit and tell so much of the story by themselves. They have blanket dances that showcase the animal spirit of their ancestry. I was in line to get a raven button blanket. It's a great honor to be given one, for a non native it's often presented as part of the wedding.

Beginning in mid July, starting usually on Vancouver Island, Canada, tribes launch their canoes and row to the next closest tribe. The tribal members on these boats row (or 'pull') the entire way. It's a grueling journey and every year a boat or two gets dumped. One year (just recently) a couple of lives were lost.

There are generally 11 - 18 stops along the way. Each stop is a time of rest, and great celebration. The hosting tribe will amass gallons of clams, oysters, geoduck, hundreds of pounds of salmon, and many side dishes to be served in honor of the visiting tribes. The shell fish are put in huge pits of hot rocks and roasted open. It's an enormous undertaking, and after months of preparations, it's an even larger celebration. The entire community shows up to share in the party!

After a day or two of rest the hosting tribe will launch their canoes with the others, and the journey continues. These can run up to a month long. There are months of preparation involved in preparing for these journeys and because of the nature of rowing in the sound with the conflicting currents and unpredictable weather, it's taken quite seriously.

The average canoe holds about 15-17 pullers and a skipper. The boats are ornate, carved from a cedar tree, painted in traditional carvings and designs. There are support crew that go along and carry supplies so there's more room for pullers.

This summer the destination is the local Suquamish Tribe. They are anticipating 70 tribes converging on their shore. This is about 6 miles from my home, so I'm going to try to get down there for pictures, and will update this hub accordingly. Most tribes will have at least 2 boats. Some of the pullers will be coming from as far away as northern Canada...possibly Alaska, and up from California.  It should be a sight to see. I may even head to G-Ma J's town to watch them come around the top of the peninsula.

I'm not an expert on tribal culture, tribal life. I do have a lot of interaction with the Pt. Gamble S'klallam Tribe as part of my job. I just wanted to share a little bit of their culture with you!

I'm putting in a sight called harmonys-art.com for my life-long friend's daughter. She's an amazing artist. Has been all her life, and has a website for her designs and jewelry.

http://www.harmonys-art.com/products.html