By Andrea Gardner
The Nootka people lived on the rugged part of Vancouver Island, on the West Coast nearest to the Pacific Ocean.
The Nootka lived in a cedar plank house made of cedar .
On the doorway of their houses were big totem poles, carved with
animal faces and bodies.
The houses were from 40 to 100 feet in length and 30 to 40 feet
in width.
The only ones who lived in each house were relatives.
The Nootka people ate fish including: salmon, herring, halibut,
cod and
fauna.
They also ate elk,deer and bear. Whales were common form of hunting
in the early summer months.
The Nootka also ate crabapples, nuts, roots(camas), berries and
lupine.
They captured in innovate nets and weirs at the mouth of a river.
They travel in a dug-out canoe made out of woven fiber.
The Nootka had potlatches. They held them by your family's order within the tribe. If you were high society you'd be seated in certain places. They were held because something great happened- suppose their son was getting married, they'd have a potlatch.
The Nootka people's dress was quite homely. During nice weather
the men wore nothing except only a few ornaments. The women wore
shredded cedar bark skirts.
In cooler climate both men and women wore cedar bark robes and
a cone-shaped hat. In colder times the wealthy wore sea-otter
and bearskins. The poor wore wild-cat, raccoon, and other small
animals.
The men wore their hair longer than their shoulders. The women
had long hair in two braids. Moccasins were worn, though the Nootka
went barefoot.
Legrand, Jacques; Chronicle of Canada, Nootka Sound, pgs. 112-146. Chronicle Publications, 1990.
Parsons, Adam; The Nootka Indians, American Indian Cultures. Fall 1998 www.ainc.gc.ca
Waldmen, Carl; Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, Nootka, pgs. 161-162. Facts on File Publications, 1988.