The Inupiaq homeland is in Northwest Alaska and North Alaska. The Portland Art Museum has some Inupiaq items on display. Shown above: Inupiaq mask made about 1900 from wood Shown above. Inupiaq pipe made about 1900 from ivory, wood, and paint. The art work on the pipe shows a walrus hunt in which the hunter … Continued
American Indian people have lived along the Columbia and Snake Rivers for thousands of years. The confluence of these two rivers served as a camping area, a trading center, and a fishing site. Today this is Washington’s Sacajawea State Park. One of the exhibits in the Sacajawea Museum in the park illustrates the Plateau longhouse. … Continued
The Maryhill Museum located near Goldendale, Washington, has a display of Plateau stone artifacts. 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 … Continued
The Northwest Coast culture area stretches along the Pacific coast between the Cascade Mountains and the ocean. It extends north of California to Alaska. This is an area which is the home to many Indian nations who traditionally based their economy on the use of sea coast and river ecological resources. The Northwest Coast culture … Continued
One of the characteristic Peruvian pottery styles is the stirrup-spout bottle. This type of container features a closed body with a tubular handle in the shape of an up-ended U with a spout in the middle. In some instances, there are two spouts. The handle and spout resemble the stirrup on a European saddle and … Continued
California Indian baskets are often considered the best in North America, and Pomo baskets are generally considered to be the best of the California baskets. In his book Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, Carl Waldman reports: “The Pomos created their beautiful baskets for functional purposes, but collectors now value them as works of fine art. … Continued
Long before the European invasion of North America, a number of autonomous, independent, and linguistically related peoples lived in contiguous territories in what would become the state of Washington. These peoples included the Yakama, Kittitas, Klikitat (also spelled Klickitat), Tainapam, and Wanapam. In 1855, the United States government forced a treaty on these people, grouping … Continued
As Grandmother Taught: Women, Tradition and Plateau Art was a special exhibit at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, Washington. The Plateau Culture Area is basically the area between the Cascade Mountains and the Rocky Mountains. The Indian nations of the Columbia River Plateau are shown above. With regard to weaving baskets, … Continued
The Siletz Room in the Burrows House Museum in Newport, Oregon, contains baskets and beadwork from the Clarinda G. Copeland (1852-1929) Collection. Born Clarinda Gertrude Kisor, she married Professor James Chambers in 1870 and in 1883 they moved to the Siletz Reservation where James served as trader to the Confederated Tribes of the reservation. When … Continued
The California culture area has the widest variety of native languages, ecological settings, and house types of any North American culture area. The shaded area on the map shown above displays the California culture area. Basketry was, and still is, important to the California Indians. In his book Indians of Lassen Volcanic National Park and … Continued
