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Northwest Coast :
The Chinook
Geography: Location and Environment
The Chinook lived in the northwest of the United States in the area that is now known as the state of Washington. They lived in two places. One of the places was at the mouth of the Columbia River where it opens into the Pacific Ocean. The other area was on the south side of the Columbia River in Oregon, and farther inland in both states. Those who lived near the Ocean are placed in the Northwest Coast culture group. (Those who live more inland usually share the culture of the Plateau Indians of the California culture area.)
Warm ocean currents (called Chinook winds) from the west created mild yearlong temperatures. It was a land of heavy rainfall along the northern Pacific coast.

Science
Plants:
The northwest had lush evergreen forests and food plants. There were many berries, roots and greens. Forests grew tall and dense. The giant red cedar grew here.
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Animals:
The oceans and the rivers were rich with fish. The area had several varieties of salmon, trout, halibut, cod, sole, and herring, plus other fish. The ocean had otters, sea lions, and seals along the coast. The sand had shellfish. Inland there were mammals such as rabbit, goats, sheep, elk, bear, and deer. There were also birds.

Basic Needs:
Foods:
The Chinook ate salmon as their main food. They netted it, harpooned it or caught it on single lines. They also caught trout, halibut, cod, sole, and herring. Some clans went in ocean-going canoes and also hunted otters, sea lions, and seals along the coast. They were less dependent on sea mammals as a food source. They also dug for shellfish. Inland the men hunted elk, bear, and deer. The women gathered bulbs, berries, and seeds.

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Salmon Dipnetting
Other: They were a powerful tribe of traders. They exchanged shells, sea oil, dried fish sealskins for other things that they needed. The Chinook are skillful wood-carvers. The men were known for their horn carvings. These are made from the horns of bighorn sheep and other animals.

Clothes:
Men: Because of the warm climate men wore little clothing. When hunting the men wore skin moccasins and leggings.
Women wore grass and bark. They had fringe skirts and raincoats made from the inner bark of the cedar.
Men and women both wore blankets of rabbit skin or dog hair, cedar-bark hat and rain capes. The Chinook developed the use of bark fibers and mountain-goat wool to make clothing and blankets.

For more information on clothes:
REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF NATIVE AMERICAN CLOTHING STYLES : California, Northwest Coast and Sub-Arctic Regions
Regional Overview of Native American Clothing and Regalia
Map of North America with Native American Varieties of Moccasins
NATIVE AMERICAN CLOTHING Overview of Footwear: Moccasins
NATIVE AMERICAN CLOTHING Leather Bags and Pouches
Tanning Deer Hides and Small Fur Skins

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 Shelters:
The Chinook lived in plank houses - These are large, rectangular houses of cedar planks. The giant red cedar was very easy to cut. Plank houses are gable-roofed houses framed with posts and covered with cedar planks. They placed them partly underground over pits. When traveling they built temporary mat shelters.

Transportation: The woods of the forests were used to make large cedar dugout canoes for river travel.

Literature - To understand more of the culture of the Chinook people read an original story by clicking on the following site.
Site for Literature:
The Legend of the Chinook Indians

The Chinook Today
2000 Population
The 2,000 member Chinook tribe lives south of Seattle, in Washington State.

Social Studies- Reservation Locations The Bureau of Indian Affairs refused to recognize the Chinook as a tribe. They were moved to a reservation of their traditional enemy the Quinault tribe on the Washington coast. The Chinook tribe has just recently been recognized as an official tribe by the United States government.
This is a recent article:
US recognizes Chinook tribe.
The 2,000 members of the tribe will now be eligible for more government money and the chance to apply for reservation lands near their traditional home.
All of the Chinook do no not live on reservations.

For more information on the Chinook:
Britannica.com: Chinook
A Book called: Naked Against the Rain: Chinook Indians

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