Grade 5 Social Studies

Notes --- Chapter 2, Lesson 4

I. The Northwest Coast & the Arctic A. Pacific coast from northern California to Alaska B. Rivers & forests FILLED with fish & game C. Land frozen for much of the year II. River Traders A. Food – little farming – fishing, hunting, gathering 1. salmon, deer, bears, nuts & berries B. Trees – HUGE – wood for boats, houses, tools B. Travel – Columbia River = water highway for trade C. Dugout = boat made from large, hollowed-out log D. The Dalles = huge TRADING center – on Columbia River 1. people traveled 100’s of miles to get there in summer III. The Chinooks – best known traders A. Where lived --- mouth of Columbia River (where river meets ocean) 1. controlled 200 miles of river – from mouth to the Dalles B. Language – made up new one just for trading – parts of many different languages C. To barter = to trade; to exchange goods D. Trade items = dried fish, shellfish, furs, whale products, seal oil, cedar, dugout canoes, masks, jewelry, baskets, copper, prisoners E. WEALTH = RESPECT = POWER F. Potlatch = HUGE party w/ feasting & dancing 1. Hosts gave away gifts to guests as sign of wealth -- sometimes made them poor! G. Clan = large group of related families H. Pit house = long wooden house, built of boards, no windows 1. Part of house built over a large dirt pit (cellar) – some rooms underground 2. pit temperature stayed @ 50 degrees all the time – good for food storage 3. several families of same clan lived together – in clan of MOTHER’s family IV. The Makahs & the Kwakiutls A. Makahs – Washington State – COAST - whale hunters B. Kwakiutls – Western Canada COAST – captured whales FOUND stranded on shore C. Harpoon = long spear with sharp shell points D. Whale hunts – Large dugout canoes – 6 ft. wide, 36 feet long = fit 60 people! 1. Used sealskin floats to keep whale from diving deep & pulling boat with it E. Totem Pole = Tall wooden post carved with shapes of people & animals F. Kwakiutls = great wood carvers, lived in long (60 ft.) wooden houses 1. ate plants, shellfish, salmon, elk, deer 2. held fanciest potlatches of all the tribes V. The Inuit (Eskimos) A. Where – Alaska, Canada, Greenland COASTS B. Food – seal, walrus, caribou, whales C. Shelter – ice igloos (dome-shaped), tents or huts in summer D. Transportation -- dogsled