The Southern Northwest Coast culture area spreads south along the Pacific coast of Washington and Oregon. This is an area which includes the Coast Salish, southern Athapaskans, and Chinook. This is the least homogeneous area in the Northwest Coast and shows ties with California to the south and the Plateau to the east. The Puget … Continued
The traditional territories of the Ktunaxa people—also known as the Kootenai—was in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and British Columbia. Their hunting and gathering economy was focused on fishing, hunting (including buffalo hunts on the Great Plains to the east of the mountains), and gathering of plants for both food and fiber. The Kootenai appear … Continued
The area between the Cascade Mountains and the Rocky Mountains in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, and Western Montana is known as the Plateau Culture area. From north to south it runs from the Fraser River in the north to the Blue Mountains in the south. Much of the area is classified as semi-arid. Part … Continued
The Plateau Culture Area is the area between the Cascade Mountains and the Rocky Mountains in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, and Western Montana. From north to south it runs from the Fraser River in the north to the Blue Mountains in the south. Much of the area is classified as semi-arid. Part of it … Continued
The concept of a discrete category called American Indian Art is a western concept which was refined during the twentieth century. Traditionally, American Indians had improved the aesthetics of the things they made, but they did not conceptualize art as something separate from function. In his book Native Arts of North America, Christian Feest writes: … Continued
Prior to the European invasion, the people of the Northwest Coast lived in large, multi-family houses built with planks on a post and beam frame which were usually arranged in a single row facing the water. The shaded area on the map shown above shows the Northwest Coast culture area. This map is on display … Continued
A special exhibit at the Fort Vancouver Visitor Center in Vancouver, Washington, featured Nez Perce elder Kevin Peters. Entitled Kevin Peters: Redefining Past and Present, Keven Peters is described at a “contemporary artist with one foot planted in the past.” According to the display: “His painting accurately depicts traditional Nez Perce form, style, and sensibility, … Continued
The Inuit are a Native American people whose homelands are in the Canadian Arctic. A special exhibit at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, Washington, featured The Inuit Art of Povungnituk. Povungnituk is a village on the eastern shores of Hudson Bay in Arctic Quebec. This artwork provides some insights into the … Continued
One gallery in the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, Washington, is dedicated to The Secret Life of an Artifact. This display provides a behind-the-scenes look at the museum collection and the science and creativity that goes in to preserving and interpreting artifacts. One of the displays in this gallery looked at American … Continued
The Southeastern Woodlands is an area which is bounded by the Ozark-Ouachita Highlands of Arkansas and Missouri and the dry plains of eastern Texas on the west and the low plateaus of Kentucky and Tennessee and the interior plains of Illinois on the north. The eastern boundary is the Atlantic Ocean and southern boundary is … Continued
