The Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center in Wenatchee, Washington, has a large display on Plateau Indians entitled Trade, Tradition, Change.
Wenatchee is, of course, named for the Wenatchee Indians who lived along the Columbia River for thousand sof years prior to the European invasion. Linguistically, the Wenatchee language is a part of the Columbian Group of the Plateau Salish language sub-family and is, therefore, most closely related to Chelan, Entiat, Method, and Columbia.
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.
Native Americans have lived in the Columbia Plateau area for thousands of years. According to the display at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center:
“Over time, at least 20 distinct cultural groups developed within the Plateau region—each with unique customs, style, and dialect. Their traditions, their trade, and the influences which impacted their cultures, have shaped who they are today.”
The distinct Plateau groups were not isolated from one another but were linked together in ancient trading networks. According to the display:
“Plateau people traded with each other, with other Native groups, with Europeans, and with Euro-Americans. Over time, these relationships created a complex web of interactions between people and their ideas, material goods, foods, plants, and animals.”
It should be noted that the Columbia River served as the major travel route through the regions. Long before the arrival of the European fur traders, Native American canoes carried people, goods, and idea up and down the river.
Archaeologist James Keyser, in his book Indian Rock Art of the Columbia Plateau, writes:
“Trade was a key element of the Columbia Plateau economy, it served both to bring items not obtainable locally and also to redistribute food products to area of seasonal scarcity.”
The trade networks linked the Indian nations of the Plateau with those of the Northwest Coast, the Great Plains, and the Great Basin areas.
According to the display:
“Inter-marriage created strong kinship ties among the peoples of the Plateau. Families commonly exchanged gifts at marriage. The bride’s family would present cornhusk bags filled with berries and roots. The groom’s family would present rawhide bags (parfleches) filled with blankets, clothing, and tanned hides.”
Among the items traded were beads and shells. Dentalium shells from the western coast of Vancouver Island (British Columbia) were often used as a medium of exchange.
Among many of the Plateau tribes, both men and women had pierced ears for earrings. Multiple piercings were common. Many of the tribes also pierced the nasal septum for nose ornaments. Among the Wenatchee, many people wore shells in their noses.
Foods were also traded. This included dried bitterroot, camas bulbs, and huckleberries.
Guns came in with the fur trade. With guns, mounted war parties increased the violence between the Indian nations of the Plateau with those of the neighboring nations in the Great Basin to the south and the Great Plains to the east.
Trade was not restricted to material items but included ideas, religious ceremonies, and philosophies.
According to the display:
“Christian missionaries built churches, discouraging traditional beliefs and practices. Many Native people embraced both sets of beliefs simultaneously.”
Indians 101
Twice each week Indians 101 explores various aspects of American Indian histories, cultures, biographies, museum exhibits, and current concerns. More about the Plateau Indian cultures from this series:
Indians 101: Plateau Indian Basket Hats and Trinket Baskets (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Plateau Women's Clothing in the High Desert Museum (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Plateau Indian Reservation Life (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Columbia River Beadwork (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Plateau Indian Baskets (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: The Plateau Culture Area
Indians 101: Women, Tradition, and Plateau Indian Art (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Plateau Horse Regalia (Photo Diary)