Admin Table of Contents
What did the Kwakiutl Indians live in?
The Kwakiutl lived in long, narrow houses called long houses or plank houses. Up to 50 people from the same clan would live in one house. Totem poles are ceremonial statues that were carved by many of the tribes in the Pacific Northwest.
What region did the Kwakiutl live in?
The Kwakiutl are one of several indigenous First Nations that inhabit the western coast of British Columbia, Canada, from central and northern Vancouver Island to the adjacent mainland coast.
What type of environment did the Kwakiutl live in?
This area was surrounded by thick, dense cedar forest. The climate in British Columbia at the time was very humid with rain and mild. The land was covered with evergreen cedar forests and hills, making wildlife plentiful in the area. The Kwakiutl lived on the area lying just east and west of the Queen Charlotte Strait.
What kind of art did the Kwakiutl make?
Like people all over the world, the Kwakiutl put a lot of time and effort into developing their own unique artistic culture, which for them was most often related to elaborate woodworking. From houses to spoons to canoes to totem poles decorated with the animal ancestors and other figures in that kinship group’s history.
How was the Kwakiutl society organized?
Kwakiutl society was organized around large kinship groups, which was the largest unit of social organization and based around one of the animal-human founding ancestors. One kinship group owned their own set of settlements while other kinship groups owned the others, but they did often interact and exchange marriages, supplies, and ideas.
What was the Kwakiutl potlatch?
Perhaps the most important custom in Kwakiutl society was the potlatch, a gathering of different groups to celebrate, trade and most importantly, to give gifts. In a potlatch, the group who gave away the most was seen as the wealthiest and the most powerful.