American Indians of the Pacific Northwest

• What can you learn about the beliefs and values of a people from their myths and folktales?
• Why do you think that animals are so often included in Native-American folklore?
• Why do you think coyote stories are among the most popular folktales?
• Why do you think that the authors of the Special Presentation essays included so many folk tales in these essays?
• What purposes did folk tales serve in Native-American cultures? What purposes do stories serve in U.S. popular culture?
• What is the difference between having a story told to you and having one read to you?

This collection has a unique variety of materials. Not only does it have both visual and textual primary sources, but it has many secondary sources as well. By creating a museum exhibit, one can explore the relationship between primary and secondary sources and learn first-hand how the presentation of information affects how it is understood.

Select a topic that is well documented in the collection, such as missionaries, Native Americans and Christianity, Native-American arts and crafts, canoes, fishing, totem poles, treaties, Indian schools, or folklore. Search the collection for pertinent primary and secondary sources. To browse secondary sources, search on Pacific Northwest Quarterly and Publications in Anthropology. Print out and arrange images and textual excerpts using the following questions (don’t forget to cite your sources in captions):

• What is your job as a museum exhibit curator? What do you want visitors to learn? What kind of experience do you want them to have?
• What is the value of primary and secondary sources? What would museum visitors miss out on if they saw only one or the other?
• How will you present your materials? Will there be a chronological, thematic, or some other type of order?
• What is the benefit of presenting a primary source first, and then a secondary source related to it? What is the benefit of the reverse order?
• How will you begin and end your exhibit? What is the role of materials placed at the beginning and end of an exhibit?

"When the pioneers arrived a hundred years ago, the familiar Nootkan (or Chinook) canoe was already the most widely used type on the Northwest Coast. It dominated the outer coast from Queen Charlotte Sound to Tillamook Bay and was admired and coveted by all the up-Sound and lower Columbia and Fraser River people. The faintly animal-like head, poised and alert, the flat bottom and almost level sheer, and the simple yet beautiful stern "knob"of this model are seen in public print almost weekly..."

(Page 33, "Canoes from Cedar Logs: A Study of Early Types and Designs")

The wealth of photographs depicting various Native-American crafts provides an opportunity to discuss craft and the distinction often made between art and craft. Access these photographs by searching on such terms as basket, blanket, canoe, clothing, rattle, weaving, and woodcarving. Compare the crafts of different tribes by selecting pertinent headings in the Subject Index such as Snohomish Indian--crafts, Nez Perce Indian--crafts, and Tlinget Indian--crafts. Use the following questions to conduct an in-depth discussion.

• What can you learn about a people from their crafts?
• What is the purpose of craft? What is the purpose of fine art?
• Where do we find arts and crafts in society? How are they made? Who sells them and who buys them? How much are they worth?
• Is something less artistic or precious because it has an everyday use and function?
• Is an artistic object less creative if the creator must take function into account?
• Is the object less creative if the creator is working within a stylistic tradition?
• Is something less valuable if it is not a one-of-a-kind object -- if there are many people who can make it or something like it? Is it less special?
• Fine art could be said to express an individual's personality and ideas, while craft could be said to express cultural beliefs and traditions. Is one more meaningful than the other? Are they mutually exclusive?
• Is the literal meaning or the aesthetic beauty of an object more important?
• Which works of art are most similar to crafts? Which crafts are most similar to fine arts? Why?

Tlingit man painting totem pole

Two Nez Perce women, Colville Indian Reservation

Chilkat blanket, Alaska

Tlingit canoe with winged figurehead

Haida totem pole, Howkan village

Perhaps the most iconic of Native-American arts and crafts is the totem pole. However, these columns that have come to symbolize Native Americans in general, were originally found only in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, many of the popular representations of totem poles are based on just one or two original poles from this region. This and other information about the meaning of totem poles and their use within and without the Northwest is available in Dr. Robin K. Wright's essay, "Totem Poles: Heraldic Columns of the Northwest." Search on totem pole for over 200 photographs reflecting the arts of Native Americans of Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington.

• What are the different kinds of totem poles and what tribes made them?
• Why did the use and size of totem poles increase in the 19th century?
• Why did the creation of totem poles all but cease at the end of the 19th century?
• Why do you think that Dr. Wright included "The Story of North Island" in her essay?
• Why are few poles still in their original locations? What is the difference between viewing a pole in its original location and in some other location?
• Why is it important to know the history of a pole?
• How have people used totem poles in the 20th century? Have these uses changed or expanded the meaning of totem poles?

In her essay, Dr. Wright observes:

"Only the best artists were commissioned to carve the monumental heraldic poles that were placed in front of and inside northern Northwest Coast houses proclaiming the identity, status, and history of the noble people who owned them."

("The Story of North Island, Part 1" of "Totem Poles: Heraldic Columns of the Northwest")

The section on Chief Seattle in David M. Buerge's essay "Chief Seattle and Chief Joseph: From Indians to Icons" describes the way Chief Seattle encouraged Euro Americans to settle and trade among his people. This brief history hints at the character of the community that emerged from Chief Seattle's invitation and became his namesake.

Photographs provide evidence of cultural interactions in a variety of locations. For example, a photograph taken in Seattle, Washington depicts a Euro-American woman buying a basket from a Native-American woman on the street. A photograph of Sitka, Alaska shows Native-American women selling their goods down the street from a Russian Orthodox Church. Use the Geographic Location Index to browse images by location or search on words such as town, city, street, and store.

• What is the name of the town you are writing about and where is it located?
• Why do you think that a community developed in this particular location?
• What different groups of people live in this town?
• Where do they live in relation to each other and to town landmarks like ports, roads, trading posts, and markets?
• When and why did these people settle here?
• What do people in this town do for subsistence, employment, or recreation?
• What sorts of resources does the town offer its inhabitants and visitors?
• Where and why do people from different cultures interact within this town?
• What are these interactions like?
• How does the multiculturalism of this town affect its atmosphere? Do people live and interact peaceably with each other? Are there conflicts? Are people segregated from each other?