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Chinook group inside a cedar plank lodge, Oregon, in engraving made 1841

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Newsela | Totem poles: Heraldic columns of the Northwest coast

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The totem poles of the Northwest Coast have a rich history and deep meaning to Indigenous peoples.

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Making a Dugout Canoe

Native American Dugout Canoe
Facts and history about the life and lifestyles of Native American Indians. The Dugout Canoe was the main type and mode of transportation used by the Native American tribes who inhabited the Northwest Pacific Coast, the Southeast and the Plateau region. The design and style of the dugout canoes were based on the natural resources that were available to the tribes, in this instance the people made use of the numerous large trees, especially cedar trees, found in their tribal homelands. The dugout canoe was made from the hollowed-out logs of large trees. The tribes hollowed out logs using controlled fire or steaming to soften the timber so they could carve and shape their dugout canoe to have a flat bottom with straight sides.

Native American Life Native American Canoes

Native Indian Tribes Index

Fact Sheet for kids

Dugout Canoe Fact 1: The canoes made by the tribes of the Northwest Pacific Coast were masterfully designed with with a distinct shape and decorated with highly artistic designs and crests. They were carved from solid logs, usually of red cedar, but occasionally made from cottonwood or Sitka spruce. These canoes were widened beyond the diameter of the original log by the spreading of the steam-softened sides. The ornate bow and stern pieces were carved and added separately

Dugout Canoe Fact 2: The Northwest Pacific Coast tribes who built these distinctive canoes believed that each canoe had its own personality and spirit

Dugout Canoe Fact 3: The Northwest Pacific Coast canoes were "dugouts" of single tree trunks. The logs were cut in summer time and fire was used to char the wood to be cut away. After it had been partly cut out inside it was stretched and shaped by steaming with water and hot stones.

Dugout Canoe Fact 4: The names of the Northwest Pacific Coast tribes who built the ornate canoes included the Bella Coola , , Tlingit , Chinook , , and the Haida Tsimshian Coast Salish. Some of their canoes were over 60 feet (18 m) long

Dugout Canoe Fact 5: The Bella Coola and other Northwest Coast tribes used several different types of canoes, including long, narrow canoes of a single red cedar log for rivers and bigger types of seagoing canoes that were often decorated with crest designs or painted black.

Dugout Canoe Fact 6: The Chinook tribe were referred to as the "Canoe Indians" who buried their dead in canoes together with their personal effects to help them on the journey to the afterlife

Dugout Canoe Fact 7: Canoes made by Native Americans such as the Plateau tribes were more basic designs and lacked the ornate shape and paintings favored by the Northwest Coast tribes

Dugout Canoe Fact 8: The men hollowed logs with controlled fire that softened the timber so they could carve and shape their canoe to have a flat bottom with straight sides. The fires were extinguished at regular intervals to scrape out the burned wood and shape the boat

Dugout Canoe Fact 9: The names of Plateau tribes who built and travelled in dugout canoes included the Coeur d'Alene , , Nez Perce , Cayuse , , Modoc , Palouse and the . Spokane Walla Walla Yakama

Dugout Canoe Fact 10: The Lewis and Clark expedition used dugout canoes built with the help of the Nez Perce Native American Indians. The canoes enabled the Corps of Discovery to float downstream from the Clearwater River Idaho, the Snake River into the Columbia River in the state of Washington

Dugout Canoe Fact 11: The Modoc constructed two types of dugout canoe. A large canoe, they called their large canoes "vunsh". These were suitable for open water navigation which was paddled and could hold four or five people. A smaller canoe, called a "vunshaga" held two people and was propelled by poling and primarily used to gather wocas seeds and duck eggs.

Dugout Canoe Fact 12: The Shasta tribe inhabited California living at the mouths of creeks, which flowed into the Shasta, Klamath, and Scott rivers. The Shasta utilized broad, clumsy dugout canoes for fishing

Dugout Canoe Fact 13: The Chumash people of California were great fishers and constructed a distinctive type of planked, seagoing canoe, called a tomol. The tomol measured up to 30 feet in length and was occasionally used for whaling. Smaller tomols were used for transportation and catching smaller fish

Dugout Canoe Fact 14: The Maidu tribe of California made rafts and dugout canoes. They made rafts by tying logs together with plant fiber ropes and their canoes were made using the hollowed log technique

Dugout Canoe Fact 15: The Southeastern Choctaw people established villages across the Deep South and used dugout canoes to travel and trade with many other tribes.

Dugout Canoe Fact 16: The different types of canoes were propelled by either paddling or polling, depending on the nature of the water

Dugout Canoe - Native Americans for kids

History of Native Indian Life

Interesting facts and info about Dugout Canoe for kids and schools

Information about Dugout Canoe and different tribes

Native American Life - Dugout Canoe for kids

Dugout Canoe - Teaching resource - Teachers - Kids - Native American Life - Daily Life - Lives - Leisure - Indian - Life - Traditional - Indians - Lifestyle - Customs - Custom - American Indian Life - Kids - Pictures - Info - Information - Tribe - Tribes - Native Americans - People - Early - Kids - Children - Facts - Info - Information - History - Pictures - Pics - People - Reference - Guide - Studies - Homework - Dugout Canoe

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Making a Dugout Canoe Native American Dugout Canoe Facts and history about the life and lifestyles of Native American Indians. The Dugout Canoe was the main type and mode of transportation used by the Native American tribes who inhabited the Northwest Pacific Coast, the Southeast and the Plateau region.

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Improve your students' reading comprehension with ReadWorks. Access thousands of high-quality, free K-12 articles, and create online assignments with them for your students.

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Newsela | Eulachon fish, a favorite among Native Americans, are fast disappearing

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Fishermen at Celilo Falls, Oregon/Washington

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By 1953, the Army Corps of Engineers began construction of a large dam that would transform the river and allow traffic to move freely up and down the river.

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For centuries, the roar of the great waterfall Celilo Falls echoed from the canyon walls near the start of the Columbia Gorge. Celilo Falls made visible the power and majesty of the Columbia River. From these waters, Indians had caught salmon for countless generations.

That world came to an end on this day 59 years ago. At 10:00am on March 10, 1957, the steel and concrete gates of The Dalles Dam closed, choking back the unimaginable force of the mighty Columbia River. Four and a half hours later and eight miles upstream, Celilo Falls, the age-old Indian salmon fishery, was silenced.

The magnitude of loss experienced by the tribes in the region was incomprehensible. Some refused to ever return to the area. For them all, the painful memory was a wound on their hearts that never healed. Most of the tribal leaders at that time have since passed on. But the spirit of Celilo still lives in the traditions and religions, indeed the very souls of Columbia River Indian people.

Today the Columbia River flows silently past this ancient fishing site. The falls' rugged outcrops and turbulent waters are out of sight; its deafening roar silenced, buried under the waters of Lake Celilo. But the memory of Celilo will always be held in solemnity by the Salmon People of the Columbia River. The residents of tiny Celilo Village still call the place home, continuing the culture, First Salmon feasts, connection to the river, and resilience of those who have dwelt at that spot for thousands of years.

Lean more about the history of Celilo Falls here.

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Dipnetting from Albert's Island at Celilo Falls. September, 1952. Photo courtesy Matheny Collection. For centuries, the roar of the great waterfall Celilo Falls echoed from the canyon walls near the start of the Columbia Gorge. Celilo Falls made visible the power and majesty of the Columbia River.

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Although just a baby when the waters of Celilo Falls went silent just more than 60 years ago, Fred Hill passes on stories to keep the memory alive.

"I never got the privilege to see Celilo Falls," he told a crowd during "Stories & Songs," a May 31 Pepsi Primetime @ the Museum presentation at Tamástslikt Cultural Institute.

"The falls died, according to the stories and things that I've heard, on March 10, 1957," added Thomas Morning Owl, who also is too young to have firsthand memories.

The presentation coincided with the museum's current exhibit, "Celilo: Progress Versus Protest." The display, which remains through July 14, tells the story of the demise of the falls as a result of construction of The Dalles Dam.

"We predicted many years ago that the dams would kill the salmon. We were a voice in the wilderness. We were told by the government and everyone else to keep our mouths shut - we need the electricity," reads a caption attributed to Richard T. Pressey, a biologist who worked for both federal and state fish agencies.

On the morning of March 10, 1957, the massive floodgates on the newly constructed dam were closed. Within hours Celilo Falls, located approximately 13 miles upstream, disappeared beneath the rising water.

John Caldbick said the falls extended across the entire river. At approximately 40 feet high, he described the Columbia River as tumbling into a series of chutes, rapids, eddies and narrows through the basalt rock.

Throughout the early part of the 20th century, American Indians used dip nets, gaff hooks and spears to catch fish at Celilo Falls. Later, the elaborate construction of fishing scaffolds - or platforms - were popular from the mid-1930s on. After a number of deaths as fishermen were swept into the churning water, the Bureau of Indian Affairs required the use of harnesses that secured fisherman to the platforms or the shore.

Dorothy Cyr, who attended the "Stories & Songs" presentation, said her father-in-law, Wilfred Yallup, described the sound of the pre-dam falls.

"He said it was like a freight train," she said. "It was really loud."

Hill and Morning Owl said many stories have been passed down about the day the falls went silent. A lot of people, including some elders, Morning Owl said, didn't think it would really happen.

"When the falls died, the sound died," Morning Owl said. "You could just hear the wind and the sound of people crying. They wailed."

For thousands of years, Celilo Falls was a gathering place for the Plateau peoples - a place where they fished, traded goods and shared common bonds. In addition to seven species of salmonids, the museum display indicates Celilo was known for its lamprey, mussels, sturgeon and other fish.

Hill said his aunt Flora always shared stories about Celilo Falls.

"She talked about getting smoked fish or dry fish," he said. "That was a big staple."

Because of the falls, Celilo was one of the largest trading centers in North America. People traveled by horses, boxcars and later hitchhiked or drove to fish, exchange goods or fellowship with others.

"We didn't need a newsletter. The elders would tell everyone what was going on," Hill said. "Everything was storytelling ... there was a lot of visiting."

Morning Owl has been active in the modern day version of Celilo - now the home of a small Indian village and the Celilo Longhouse. The falls have been replaced by a slack-water lake.

People still fish and gather for ceremonies. Cyr stops there every chance she gets, bringing youths from the reservation to see the area.

"I make them take a rock. I tell them to take a piece of Celilo with you," she said. "There's a lot of our history there."

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Contact Community Editor Tammy Malgesini at tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4539

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Although just a baby when the waters of Celilo Falls went silent just more than 60 years ago, Fred Hill passes on stories to keep the memory alive. "I never got the privilege to see Celilo Falls," he told a crowd during "Stories & Songs," a May 31 Pepsi Primetime @ the Museum presentation at Tamástslikt Cultural Institute.