BC First Nations Studies – Chp 2: Living on the Land Preserving and Using Resources

What you will do in this chapter: Describe traditional BC First Nations technologies, including the uses of plants and animals Compare current and traditional First Nations resource use and management Relate First Nations concepts of land and resource ownership to spiritual and other cultural dimensions, including language

Key Concepts First Nations people developed sophisticated and efficient technologies to harvest and process the resources of their territories First Nations world view understands that all living things are interconnected and interdependent. A characteristic of traditional first nations societies is their commitment to stewardship of the land and the environment. Effective methods of managing the resources were and continue to be employed by the First Nations of BC. Many traditional resources are still harvested and processed today.

Chapter 2: Preserving and Using Resources: Intro Highly efficient technologies developed to process what was harvested, it was tailored to the specific needs of the location Much of the labour was to prepare food for winter storage when no salmon were available The winter months were used to make items that would be used in spring and summer harvesting periods like baskets or for carving ceremonial masks

Preserving and Using Resources – Food (pg 39) After the meat was cleaned it was preserved by drying either by the wind, sun or smoke from fires Methods of cutting and drying differ from community to community resulting in a variety of finished products Storage varied from Nation to Nation depending on the geography and climate In the Fraser Canyon there are still racks used to dry fish with the hot dry air in the summer months On the coast fish were stored in bentwood boxes under the raised floors around the sides of the longhouses In the interior the nomadic people built storehouses high above the ground to prevent animals from getting to it. In other interior communities where they lived in pit houses, food was stored in underground pits Why do you think this is?

Preserving and Using Resources – Hides (p 39) Hides of large animals were used for clothing as well as for shelters such as tipis Raw hide could be used for cord or to cover drums The tanning process was complex first the fur and fat needed to be removed without making any cuts to the hide, next, a knowledge of the chemical process of tanning and the timing of the steps was crucial using a boiled mix of deer or moose brain and the marrow from bones. Hides also may have been smoked over fires as part of the process

Preserving and Using Resources – Making Textiles and Baskets (pp 40 &41) Plant fibers woven into clothing, mats, and baskets and used in twine and rope. Women usually had the role of gathering and processing the necessary plants using traditional knowledge passed down of where and how to gather materials and how to process them Eg. On the coast, fishing nets were woven using stinging nettle over the winter time The fibers were removed from the stems and twisted into twine Baskets could be woven from cedar bark, spruce roots, reeds or grasses, the choice of material depended on the purpose Eg tight weaves with resin (from trees) made them water tight

Preserving and Using Resources – Making Textiles and Baskets (pp 40 &41) cont’d Weaving and basket making became highly sought after arts Each nation developed it’s own unique style and patterns Robes were made by combining animal hair and fibers from plants into textiles. The robes signified power and social status or had spiritual significance Coast salish women bred dogs with very soft hair which was spun using a spindle whorl and woven using a special type of loom

Coast Salish Spindle Whorl - Below left is a Musqueam woman using a spindle whorl image taken from: http://uvac.uvic.ca/gallery/salishcurriculum/coast-salish-design-elements/spindle-whorls - Below right is a Coast Salish Loom image taken from: http://midislandnews.com/early-nanaimo-history/history-coast-salish-nobility-blankets

Preserving and Using Resources – Making Textiles and Baskets (pp 40 &41) cont’d Mountain Goat Wool was widely used for blankets because of it’s soft feel and great warmth It was difficult to harvest so was rarely used and usually only for ceremonial robes of high-ranking people North Coast – two types: Raven’s tail blanket and Chilkat blanket created using a complex weaving process Coast Salish people wove their own style from mountain goat hair

Preserving and Using Resources – Making Tools and Household Goods (pp 41&42) cont’d Men and women made the tools they needed for their jobs during the winter time, an expert was sometimes needed Because nothing was wasted from animals or plants for example after the moose was harvested for meat and its hide, the antlers were used for making knives and scrapers, the stomach was used as a bag and connective tissue as a tough thread A hunter’s most important equipment was a bow and arrow Hunters made their own equipment and needed to be very good at it The bow was made from the yew or maple tree The string was made from animal connective tissue Arrows were made for their specific purpose Shaping the stone required great skill and patience and knowledge of how the pieces will break off

Preserving and Using Resources – Making Tools and Household Goods (pp 41 &42) cont’d Canoes and Bentwood boxes were the most useful items for the Coastal First Nations Bentwood boxes (made from cedar) were traded with interior groups Steam the wood allowed the woodworker to make the sides out of one piece of wood. The corners were notched or Kerfed joined with pegs or lashing (string) and completed with a tightly fitted lid and bottom The bentwood boxes stored many items including food, fishing gear and a chief’s ceremonial gear and could also be used for seating

Preserving and Using Resources – Creating Shelter (pp 42&43) Different shelter used for summer and winter (depending on resource sites) Needed to be light and portable Tipis used in the Northeast and Prairies were very portable and covered using hides which allowed the people to follow herds of animals for hunting People in the southern interior dug pit houses for winter, the entrance was through the central smokehole and down a log ladder. They were usually circular with a roof built of beams and posts. (pg 42 image) As many as 30 people lived in a pit house Research what the winter climate of the southern interior is. Why would pit houses have been used?

Preserving and Using Resources – Creating Shelter (pp 42&43) cont’d Coastal people built longhouses or big houses using large cedar planks. Distinct styles were used in different areas. Haida 6 beams that projected from the roofs Most other types used two roofbeams Side planks forming the wall were placed vertically in the north and horizontally in Coast Salish territory to be able to add extensions The longhouse was named and decorated with a crest with the extended family living under one roof.

Coast Architecture On the left: Model of Coast Salish with horizontal boards Below: Haida longhouse with totem pole and 6 roof beams Both images from: https://www.sfu.ca/brc/art_architecture/nw_coast_architecture/coast-salish-architecture.html

Preserving an Using Resources – Transportation (pp 43 & 44) Throughout the interior people usually walked until horses arrived in the 1700s by the Spanish explorers and colonists Bridges were built where needed using sophisticated engineering skills (see page 44) On the coast transportation was mainly by canoe unless traveling to the interior on ‘grease trail’ named for the Oolichan grease that dripped out of boxes and stained the trail Canoes could be built with lengths up to 18m Interior people built birch bark canoes where cedar was less available

Transportation – Eulachon/Grease Trails image on left taken from: Image below from: National Geographic www.quesnelmuseum.ca/FootprintsInStone/History/Grease-Trail.html