Coast Salish facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Coast Salish

Distribution of Coast Salish languages in the early 19th century
Total population
56,590 (2013, estimate)
Regions with significant populations
United States,  Canada
British Columbia, Canada	28,406
Washington, United States	28,284
Languages
Coast Salish languages
Related ethnic groups
Other Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast, other Salish peoples

The Coast Salish peoples are a large group of Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. They live in parts of British Columbia, Canada, and the states of Washington and Oregon in the U.S. These groups are connected because they speak similar Coast Salish languages.

The Coast Salish are made up of many different nations, each with their own unique cultures and languages. Their traditional lands stretch from the northern part of the Salish Sea down to most of southern Vancouver Island. They also cover the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and much of Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. Major cities like Victoria, Vancouver, and Seattle are located on their historic territories. The Tillamook people in Oregon are the southernmost Coast Salish group.

Coast Salish cultures are different from their northern neighbors. They trace their family lines through both their mother's and father's sides. In 2013, it was estimated that there were at least 56,590 Coast Salish people. This includes those registered in British Columbia and enrolled members in Washington State.

Who Are the Coast Salish Peoples?

The Coast Salish culture group is divided into four main areas. These groups share some cultural traits but also have their own distinct traditions and languages.

Northern Coast Salish Communities

Central Coast Salish Communities

Southern Coast Salish Communities

Southwestern Coast Salish Communities

Coast Salish History

The Coast Salish peoples have a long and rich history. Evidence shows settlements existed as early as 3000 BCE. One important early site is X̱á:ytem (Hatzic Rock) in British Columbia. Another is c̓əsnaʔəm (Marpole Midden), which was used from about 2000 BCE until the late 1800s. Villages along the Duwamish River in Washington were continuously inhabited from the 6th century CE.

Early European Contact

European explorers first met Coast Salish peoples in the late 1700s and early 1800s. In 1791, explorers Juan Carrasco and José María Narváez explored the Strait of Georgia. In 1792, the Vancouver expedition had a brief meeting with the Squamish people. In 1808, Simon Fraser traveled through Coast Salish lands along the Fraser Canyon. He met various groups until he was turned back by Musqueam warriors near the Fraser River's mouth.

Trading with Europeans slowly increased in the 1810s. Major trading posts like Fort Vancouver (1824) and Fort Langley (1827) were built. These forts became important places for interaction and trade between Indigenous peoples and Europeans. The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) played a big role in this trade.

Changes and Challenges

From the 1810s to the 1850s, Coast Salish groups faced raids from northern peoples like the Euclataws and Haida. These groups sought slaves and goods.

The arrival of Europeans brought many changes. Treaties were signed in the mid-1800s, like the Stevens Treaties in Washington and the Douglas Treaties on Vancouver Island. These agreements often set aside land for Indigenous communities, known as reservations.

Traditional ways of life changed as resources became less available. Many Coast Salish men began working in logging, sawmills, and commercial fishing. Women sold baskets and shellfish. Farming work, especially in hop yards, also became common.

Impact of Diseases

One of the most devastating impacts was the spread of diseases. The first smallpox epidemic hit the region in the 1680s. A major smallpox epidemic in 1862 killed a large portion of the Indigenous population, sometimes up to 90% in some areas. This epidemic spread quickly after an infected miner arrived in Victoria. Police forced many First Nations people to leave their camps, which sadly helped spread the disease to their home villages.

The population of Coast Salish peoples declined significantly between 1774 and 1874, by about 66%. However, their numbers have been growing again in recent decades.

• Before epidemics: about 12,600 people.
• 1850: about 5,000 people.
• 1885: less than 2,000 people.
• 1984: about 18,000 people.
• 2013: at least 56,590 people.

Cultural Revival and Rights

In 1885, the potlatch ceremony was banned in Canada. A potlatch is a traditional feast and ceremony where gifts are given away to show wealth and status. This ban was lifted in the U.S. in 1934 and in Canada in 1951. After the ban was lifted, many communities began holding potlatches openly again.

A strong movement to revive Indigenous cultures began in the 1960s. People started working to protect their treaty rights. In 1967, Chief Dan George gave a powerful speech that raised public awareness about the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada.

In 1974, the Boldt Decision in the U.S. Supreme Court upheld fishing rights for federally recognized Puget Sound tribes. Since the 1970s, many tribes have gained more economic independence through businesses like casinos and managing fisheries. In British Columbia, organized resistance began in the 1970s against government policies that aimed to assimilate Indigenous peoples. This led to communities using their traditional names, like Sto:lo and Snuneymuxw, more often.

Coast Salish Culture

Coast Salish culture is rich and complex, with strong community ties and unique traditions.

Social Structure and Connections

Coast Salish communities were connected through marriages, feasts, and ceremonies. These ties were especially strong among groups living along the same waterways. There were no formal political leaders or institutions.

Relationships extended far beyond immediate neighbors. In Washington, there were ties with Sahaptin-speaking groups to the east. In Canada, the Squamish people and Sto:lo had connections with Interior Salish neighbors.

Society was generally divided into upper class, lower class, and slaves. A person's rank was often based on their family history, connections with other tribes, wise use of resources, and special knowledge about spirits. This meant that social class, wealth, religious power, and economic power were often linked. Many Coast Salish mothers gently shaped the heads of their babies using cradle boards. This created a distinct sloping forehead, which was a sign of being free-born.

Unlike some other hunter-gatherer societies, Coast Salish society was structured and focused on property and status. Slavery was practiced, and slaves were considered property, not members of the tribe. Children of slaves were also born into slavery.

Daily Life and Food

The main food for Coast Salish peoples was salmon. They also ate a wide variety of other seafood and plants. This was especially true for the southern Coast Salish, who lived in a mild climate. They ate freshwater fish like kakanee from lakes and many kinds of shellfish. Clams were often dried for trade.

Hunting was specialized, with people focusing on sea animals, land animals, or birds. Waterfowl were caught at night using flares.

Coast Salish peoples managed their lands carefully. They maintained grasslands, which provided habitats for game and a variety of edible plants. Important plants included bracken and camas. Many types of berries were gathered, sometimes using special comb-like tools.

Communities like the Muckleshoot followed a "Seasonal Rounds" cycle for gathering food. In January, they caught salmon. By May, they ate salmonberry sprouts with salmon eggs. Men hunted deer and elk, while women gathered camas and clams. In summer, steelhead and king salmon were plentiful, and berries ripened in the forests.

Art and Possessions

The Salish Sea region has ancient art dating back thousands of years. This art shows unique Salish styles. Bowls shaped like seated human figures were used in ceremonies, like female puberty rituals, and were believed to help with childbirth.

Coast Salish people valued material possessions like land, food resources, household items, and decorations. They believed that wealth improved one's life and helped gain high status. Wealth was not hidden; it was often displayed publicly during ceremonies.

Games and Recreation

Games were an important part of Coast Salish culture. They often involved gambling on a sleight-of-hand game called slahal. Athletic contests were also popular, including games similar to modern lacrosse, rugby, and martial arts.

Beliefs and Spirituality

Belief in guardian spirits and the ability to shapeshifting between human and animal forms was common. People had complex ideas about the soul and the lands of the living and the dead. Vision quest journeys, where individuals sought spiritual guidance, were widely practiced. The Duwamish had a special ceremony for soul recovery.

The Quileute Salish people believed that everything had five parts to its spirit: the body, an inner and outer soul, its life force, and its ghost. They believed that illness happened when the soul left the body. Shamans would travel to the underworld to bring back a soul and heal the person.

Spirits of the dead were believed to be able to return to the living world, often at night. This made living people cautious and they preferred to travel during the day and stay together for safety. The journey to the underworld was often described as a two-day trip through a trail, bushes, a lake, and a valley divided by a river. The afterlife was seen as very similar to their past lives, with spirits continuing to work, hunt, and live with their families.

Coastal Salish people express their spiritual powers through dances, masks, and ceremonies. These powers, gained through individual trials and often related to spirit animals like ravens or bears, define a community's success in leadership, healing, or art. Winter spirit dancing ceremonies are common gatherings where community members share their unique songs and dances.

Architecture and Homes

Coast Salish villages typically featured longhouses made from split planks of western red cedar. These large homes could house forty or more people, usually an extended family. Some groups also used pit-houses, called kekuli.

Villages were often built near water for easy travel by canoe. Some villages stretched for miles along a river. Inside the longhouses, sleeping platforms lined the walls. Storage shelves above held baskets, tools, and clothing. Firewood was kept below the platforms. Mats woven from reeds and animal skins served as mattresses. Food was hung from the ceiling to dry. Larger houses had partitions to separate families and openings in the roof that acted as chimneys for indoor fires.

Wealthy families built very large longhouses. The Suquamish Oleman House (Old Man House) was about 152 meters (500 feet) long. The unique gambrel roof style was specific to Puget Sound Coast Salish longhouses.

The Salish also built rock walls at important points along the Fraser River Canyon. These "Salish Defensive Sites" may have been used for defense, fishing platforms, or creating flat areas for houses.

Archaeologists study ancient Coast Salish villages, especially "wet sites" where water has preserved wood and fiber artifacts for thousands of years. These sites can contain items like wedges, fishhooks, baskets, and nets that usually decay.

Plants and Their Uses

The Coast Salish use over 100 different plant species. For example, the salal plant is used to make tinctures and teas, and its berries are eaten at feasts. They also use the leaves of Carex plants to make baskets and twine.

Coast Salish in Literature and TV

• Legends of Vancouver by E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) is a collection of Coast Salish stories. It was first published in 1911.
• Author Stanley Evans has written mystery novels featuring a Coast Salish detective named Silas Seaweed.
• In the 2017 TV series Taboo, the character James Delaney's mother is named "Salish."
• In 2022, filmmaker Ryan Abrahamson of the Spokane Tribe created a supernatural thriller that features the Coast Salish language.

Understanding the Term "Coast Salish"

The term "Coast Salish" is often used to describe this large group of related peoples. However, some communities prefer to use their specific tribal names. This is because the idea of a single "national" grouping was not traditionally part of their culture. The term "Coast Salish" came more from anthropologists (people who study human societies) than from the communities themselves. Today, people are increasingly using the specific names of tribes or communities.

See also

In Spanish: Salish para niños

• Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
• Interior Salish