Did you know the tribes of the Pacific Coast First nations were different from the other tribes in Canada because they had a very organized social structure? There were nobles, commoners and slaves in the tribes. The upper class was special just because they were born into a specific family.

There were six principal tribes of the Pacific First Coast First Nations. The Haida were the only members that spoke the Haida language and lived in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Across from the Queen Charlotte Islands on the mainland lived the Tsimshian. They were separated into three groups who all spoke the Tsimshian language. The Salishan language family lived along the east coast of Vancouver Island and on the mainland at the mouth of the Columbia River. Between these northern and southern tribes lived the Kwakiutl and the Bella Coola, who also belonged to the Salishan language family.

Some of these tribes traced their line of decent or their family tree through the mother, while others traced their lineage through the father. In any case these family trees were important, because they determined who got the best sites for fishing, hunting, wood and bark collecting and shellfish gathering. It also determined the right to wear specific ceremonial masks, and dance certain dances.

Each group had its own crest, usually of an animal or spiritual being thought to be their originator. These crests were sometimes called totems and were used everywhere they possible! They were painted on homes, clothing, and beds, tattooed on bodies, painted on faces and woven into formal clothing. They were carved into plates, spoons, masks and storage containers.

This art form has made the Pacific Coast First Nations well recognized. One of the most recognized art forms around the world is the totem pole. The totem pole is a depiction of the symbols belonging to the ancestry of the tribe. It is carved on huge red cedar poles and shows forms of humans and animals sitting atop of each other, reaching into the sky.

There were many kinds of totem poles. The memorial poles were built when a chief died and his replacement carved the totem pole to commemorate him. The house portal pole was erected at the door of the home, telling all those who entered the inhabitant's lineage. These poles had large holes at their base that acted like a doorway.

The social structure of the Pacific Coast First Nations determined things like who would be chief of the village and who would earn very little in the tribe. The lowest person in the tribe was the most distant relation to the chief, but he could lift his status if he became particularly good at a skill such as mask carving or canoe making. Slaves were used to tasks such as gathering wood or digging for clams.

Fishing was the main form of food gathering of the Pacific Coast First Nations. Dip nets made from nettle fibres and were attached to wooden frames. These nets were used to catch salmon, herring and smelt. Gill nets were also used. Gills nets catch a fish when it tries to swim though the holes. The fish gets caught by the gills as it tries to pull its head out. Harpooning, trapping and baited hooks were also techniques used to catch fish.

The women of the tribes were responsible for catching shellfish, such as clams, periwinkles, abalone, mussels and oysters. They used a hardwood stick to pry the shells open and prepare the shellfish. Fish was the staple food for the Pacific Coast First Nations. The fish was dried or smoked and stored for later meals. In season, they would also gather berries, sometimes preserving them in oil for the coming winter.

Oil was an important part of the Pacific Coast First Nation's diet. It made the dried fish easier to eat, kept the berries preserved and helped make up for the lack of starch in the native diet. One of the best sources of oil was the eulachon, a fish about 15 centimetres long and packed with oil. Its nickname was the candle fish, because if lit, it burned end to end like a candle!

Collecting the oil was an interesting chore! Women would place the fish in large barrels and add hot stones to quicken the process of rotting. When the fish were rotten enough, they squeezed the rotting fish against their chests to allow the oil to run into bags made from sea mammal's intestines! The Tsimshian and Nisga tribes controlled the oil production and traded it to other tribes. The routes they took into the interior of British Columbia are still known today as the grease trails!

The Pacific Coast First Nations traveled by water in canoes made of red cedar. This wood was abundant on the west coast, and the aboriginal people of this area used it for many items. Cedar is a soft beautiful wood with a lovely smell. Aboriginal west coast tribes used it to make masks, totem poles, containers, houses and canoes. The soft inner bark was used to make clothing baskets, napkins and tablecloths! But it was canoe-making that was thought to be a sacred skill.

The canoes they built were called “dugouts”. The Haida made canoes that were high in the front and back. These canoes could glide over the ocean waters without being swamped by waves. The Haida expertise in building these beautiful canoes made them admired by all west coast nations. Sometimes carved figures were secured to the front of the boats. The Haida would use their canoes to trade with other tribes.

It was important that the canoes be seaworthy because the hunters went to sea to catch whales. The harpooner sat behind the raised bow with a huge harpoon made of yew wood. It had a spear head made from shell that had been sharpened into a point, and attached with spruce gum, between two barb-like elk antlers. When the harpoon was thrust into the whale, the spearhead would detach from the wooden pole and a twisted rope of spruce root would uncoil. Tied along the rope were inflated sealskins. These sealskins acted like balloons and made it difficult for the whale to dive into the depths of the sea, pulling the boat with it.

Once a whale was sited in the ocean, the canoe of hunters would carefully glide up along side the whale, and the standing harpooner would sink the harpoon as deep as he could into the whale. If the whale swam into the ocean during this wild ride, it could take days to tow it back into the shore. Returning hunt parties were met with great enthusiasm. A festival called all the chiefs of the tribes to the beach. The whale blubber was divided among the visitors in order of their rank.

The Pacific Coast First Nations built village sites that lasted for many years. In fact, some sites have been around for 4,000 years! The villages were usually built on the shores of bays and inlets, away from the ocean. Thirty lodges in the village could support about 700 people.

Just as cedar was used for canoes, totem poles and other utensils, it was also used for building homes. The Haida, Tsimshian, and Kwakiutl built large house held up by large carved and decorated poles at the front and back. The roof was built of cedar planks that overlapped. The walls were planks of cedar fitted into sills. The large rectangular house had an oval doorway in the side that faced the beach

The Nootka, Bella Coola and Salish built their homes slightly differently because they were more mobile, moving from fishing site to fishing site. The houses had outer walls that were easily disconnected and re-built by attaching to new wooden frames.

The insides of these houses were large with places for many families. Most sleeping accommodations were platforms along the walls. Each family was able to have its own hearth for cooking. Around the hearth the members of the families sat on mats woven from cedar bark. Wooden chests were common and were used for storing possessions such as oil, ceremonial masks, clothing, and whale blubber. Often the clan crests were carved into the tops and sides, making them true works of art.

While cedar was a common wood for carving, it did not make good food containers. The fragrant oils in the wood transferred to the food. Most food containers were simple troughs, dug out of alder.

All Pacific Coast Peoples believed in the “salmon people”. Salmon was so important in their lives that they believed salmon were really supernatural people who lived in the waters. When the salmon runs began these people would transform themselves into fish and returned each year to feed human beings.

Haida Pacific Coast shamans wore their hair long and used bones tubes to take away illnesses. Other tribes made up dramas, dances and mimes to capture lost souls.

Winter was a favourite time for ceremonies. Secret societies performed the ritual dramas and dances. Carved masks played an important role in the festivals, as did puppets and fire. The potlatch was a ceremony shared by all the Pacific Coast First Nations. The feast was one of dancing and presents were given to invited guests. The chief who held the potlatch was considered high in social status, and the more materials things he distributed, the wealthier he was believed to be!