TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface.................................................................................................................................5 Introduction .........................................................................................................................6 1. Definition of the Culture Area ......................................................................................8 2. Creation of a Distinctive Art .........................................................................................12 2.1. Materials and Technologies Used..........................................................................12 2.2. Basic Artistic Styles...............................................................................................17 2.3. Mythical Figures and Their Symbolism.................................................................18 3. Importance of Art in the Life of the Northwest Coast People ......................................26 3.1. Winter Ceremonials ...............................................................................................26 3.2. Potlatch...................................................................................................................33 3.3. Shamanism.............................................................................................................35 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................38 Works Cited.........................................................................................................................40 Appendix .............................................................................................................................43 PREFACE Although the art of the Northwest Coast First Nations is widely recognized in North America and original works of art are well represented in local museums and galleries, the awareness of Native American cultures and hence the art of the Northwest Coast is fairly negligible in the Czech Republic. For that reason, literature and sources available are somewhat scarce, and I had to rely on well-supplied libraries, private collections and internet. The most educational source of information for my research was the book Art of the Northwest Coast by Aldona Jonaitis, professor of anthropology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and director of the University of Alaska Museum of the North, which not only gives a thorough description of the Northwest Coast Native culture development from the historical point of view, but also contains plenty of beautiful illustrations and photographs with in-depth comments. Another helpful book, Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast by the Northwwest Coast art recognized authority Hilary Stewart, provided me with valuable information especially those on design motifs. The most pertinent internet source was JSTOR online database, which offered important thematic articles. 5 INTRODUCTION The Pacific Northwest Coast is a remarkable region which is characterized by beautiful nature with abundant resources of ocean, rivers and forests. This mountainous coast has been occupied by humans for at least 10,000 years and over such a long period its original residents have developed material culture with a unique artistic style, which is clearly distinct from those of others (McMillan 170-171). Although many different Native groups lived on the Pacific Northwest Coast, the indigenous peoples shared rich cultural traditions. Their life was based on two principal resources: fish and cedar. Red cedar wood was not only an important material for canoe building, but also enabled men to carve fine objects of art including totem poles and house posts, masks, bentwood boxes, and other household and ceremonial articles. Over the centuries, typical form lines, shapes and colors have been used to create a unique artistic style. Motifs depicted on works of art predominantly represent animals and supernatural beings, which have their origin in the rich mythology and legends that are characteristic for this area (Pritzker 163-164). The aim of this thesis is to trace principles on which the distinctive style of the Northwest Coast art has developed and to find relations between art and mythology. The thesis, therefore, examines the role of art in the ceremonial life of the Northwest Coast First Nations in the context of mythology. The thesis is divided into three sections. In the first chapter, I will briefly describe the area in terms of geography, natural resources and social organization, which all have an important impact on the art of the Northwest Coast. In the second chapter, I will focus on the work of art itself, and such issues as materials and technologies used, basic artistic styles, and motifs and their symbolism will be covered. In the third chapter, I will point out the importance of art in the life of the Northwest Coast people while taking significance of 6 mythology into account. This chapter will, therefore, primarily deal with the usage of works of art in rituals and ceremonials. 7 1. DEFINITION OF THE CULTURE AREA The Northwest Coast geographic region is a strip of land which extends from north of Yakutat Bay in Alaska to the California–Oregon border, including lands west of the Coast and Cascade Mountains. Its length is approximately 2,450 kilometers and width less than 160 kilometers on average (Pritzker 162). The mountainous coastline is lined by plentiful islands, and great sounds and fjords cut into the mainland forming deep valleys. The interior has access to the maritime way of life due to plentiful rivers. Water was therefore an important element in the life of the Northwest Coast people and allowed easy transportation realized by canoes (McMillan 170). The climate is moderate with mild temperatures and high precipitation. The coast is covered with temperate rainforest where various kinds of trees flourish. The most important for the Northwest Coas people was the red cedar 1 ( Thuja plicata ), which provided them with excellent raw material for manufacture. Other trees include the yellow cedar ( Callitropsis nootkatensis ), Douglas fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii ), hemlock ( Tsuga sp.), redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens ), spruce ( Picea sp.), etc. (Boas 2). The lush environment of the Northwest Coast afforded its inhabitants a wide range of natural resources. The dense forests are home to many species of mammals: the white-tail deer (Odocoileus virginianus ), mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ), elk ( Cervus elaphus ), moose ( Alces alces ), dall sheep ( Ovis dalli ), mountain goat ( Oreamnos americanus ) are the primary large herbivores; primary carnivore/omnivore species include grizzly bear (Ursus arctis horribilis ), brown bear (Ursus arctis ), american black bear ( Ursus Americanus ), wolf (Canis lupus ), mountain lion ( Puma concolor ), wolverine ( Gulo gulo ), marten ( Martes caurina ), mink ( Mustela vison ) (Boas 2- 3). Some of these represented sources of food, while 1 In the United States and Canada, red cedar ( Thuja plicata ) and yellow cedar ( Callitropsis nootkatensi ) are commonly used names for evergreen coniferous trees belonging to cypress family ( Cupressaceae ). In a botanical sense, cedar is a tree of the Cedrus genus in the Pinaceae family, which is introduced and is not native to North America (Tree Canada). 8 others furnished the local people with valuable skins or wool. But the Northwest Coast is abundant especially in animal life in the ocean, and marine resources thus formed the staple food for its people. As Ames suggests, “analyses of a small sample of skeletons recovered from burials along the British Columbia coast spanning the last 5000 years concluded that marine resources contributed as much 90% of the diet during that period” (216). The most important fish was salmon, and these five kinds were fished for in the local streams: pink ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha ), coho ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ), chum (Oncorhynchus keta ), chinook ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ), and sockeye ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) (Pritzker 163). In fact, the seasonality and predictability of its runs led to “the development of a storage-based economy” allowing people year-round supplies (Ames 216). Other kinds of fish taken include halibut ( Hippoglossus stenolepis ), eulachon ( Thaleichthys pacificus ), smelt (Osmeridae family), herring ( Clupea sp.), and sturgeon ( Acipenser sp .). Among sea mammals found along the coast are whales – killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) and grey whale ( Eschrichtius robustus ), seals ( Phocidae family), sea lions ( Otariinae subfamily), and sea otters ( Enhydra lutris ) (Boas 3). It is true then, as Ringel concludes, that it was the abundance of food resources that led to “the development of a complex social and ceremonial life” (349). The first humans settled the Northwest Coast as early as 10,000 years ago, and at one time perhaps 165,000 people lived there (Pritzker 162). The region was one of the most linguistically diverse in North America. As Jonaitis suggests, in the south, around Puget Sound, southern British Columbia, and southeastern Vancouver Island, people spoke different but related languages, altogether termed Coast Salish. The peoples falling into Wakashan linguistic family occupied the central British Columbia coast, the east coast of Vancouver Island, and the northwest Olympic Peninsula, and among its speakers were the Heiltsuk (Bella Bella), Haisla, Oweekeno, Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwakiutl), Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka),

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