For more than 15,000 years, Native Americans have been living in what today is called Oregon. The state contains three distinctive environmental areas, each with its own special climate, plants, and animals. The Indian cultures which helped the people adapt to these different ecologies are also distinct. The displays at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland show these different culture areas.
With regard to language, Oregon’s Indian people spoke at least 18 different languages belonging to at least five different language families: Uto-Aztecan, Hokan, Salishan, Penutian, and Athabaskan.
Shown above are some obsidian stone points and the rocks which are used in making them.
Northwest Coast:
The area along the Pacific Coast north of California and between the Cascade Mountains and the ocean, is the home to many Indian nations who traditionally based their economy on the use of sea coast and river ecological resources. This is an area which stretches from the Tlingit homelands in Alaska to the Tolowa homelands in northern California. Included in this larger culture area are the Indians of the Oregon coast and western Oregon valleys. According to the museum’s display:
“Living in a temperate rain forest, they used cedar for canoes, house planks, cordage, clothing, and basketry materials. They harvested vast numbers salmon, hunted, gathered, and collected marine mollusks. In an area of natural abundance, it was easy for them to lead good lives, and they emphasized wealth, class, and privileges.”
Shown above is the display of the Northwest Coast plank longhouse.
Water transport was important and some different types of canoe paddles are shown above.
Shown above is a woman’s skirt which has incorporated trade beads, thimbles, buttons, abalone shell fragments, and porcupine quillwork.
Plateau:
The area between the Cascade Mountains and the Rocky Mountains in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, and Western Montana is known as the Plateau Culture area. From north to south it runs from the Fraser River in the north to the Blue Mountains in the south. Much of the area is classified as semi-arid. Part of it is mountainous with pine forests in the higher elevations. Among the Oregon Plateau First Nations are the Nez Perce, the Cayuse, Wasco, Wishram, and Umatilla. According to the museum’s display:
“Living in the arid, rolling landscape east of the Cascades, the Plateau Indians dug roots, hunted, and caught salmon from the Columbia River and its tributaries. They imported dugout canoes, shells, and foods from west of the mountains in trade for wind-dried salmon, slaves, obsidian, and basket materials. Their shelters were mat-covered lodges.”
The beaded gauntlet shown above is from the Warm Springs Reservation.
The horse became an important part of the Plateau Indian cultures during the eighteenth century. Shown above is a Nez Perce saddle.
Shown above are digging sticks which were used in harvesting root plants such as camas.
The two baskets shown above are examples of folded bark baskets. The smaller basket is made from cherry bark and the larger one is made from cedar bark.
Great Basin:
The Great Basin Culture Area includes the high desert regions between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains. It is bounded on the north by the Columbia Plateau and on the south by the Colorado Plateau. It includes southern Oregon and Idaho, a small portion of southwestern Montana, western Wyoming, eastern California, all of Nevada and Utah, a portion of northern Arizona, and most of western Colorado. This is an area which is characterized by low rainfall and extremes of temperature. The valleys in the area are 3,000 to 6,000 feet in altitude and are separated by mountain ranges running north and south that are 8,000 to 12,000 feet in elevation. The rivers in this region do not flow into the ocean, but simply disappear into the sand. According to the museum’s display:
“The lakes of the Great Basin desert abounded in life: suckers, trout, pelicans, ducks, geese, and their eggs were all important foods. The men hunted deer and antelope. The women dug roots. Life in the Great Basin demanded strong bodies, good judgment, and skill to survive.”