First Nations and the Sea

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.	First Nations and Aboriginal People of the Pacific Northwest Coast of BC Historical Perspectives	.


.	Aboriginal People and the Legacy of their Culture	.

. Balance with the Sea	You can examine the environment of the historical First Nations and Aboriginal people of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

	You can examine First Nations and Aboriginal peoples relationship with the land.
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You can examine First Nations and Aboriginal peoples relationship with the sea and how they were able to fish and travel about on the sea.


Use these resources to help you find the information that you are looking for

Teacher and this project

Students and this project

Aboriginal peoples of the region

Maps of Pacific Northwest coast

Fishing

Technology and tools

Travel on the sea

Hunting and gathering

Shelter and clothing

Travel on the land

Villages and families

Potlatch

Art, drama, music and games

Trade and warfare

This is a project set in a "technologically enhanced environment" which integrates curriculum with online resources.

Your project is to investigate historical First Nations fisheries. Look into:

the fish that were caught and how they were used
the technology and tools that were developed to catch the fish
how the aboriginal people travelled on the sea.

The environment that First Nations lived in was filled with food resources:

such as abundant salmon, cod, halibut, herring, eulachon and sturgeon
and this abundance enabled the people to create beautiful artifacts for decoration and daily use.

Fishing

A. Describe ways that the sea met the basic needs of the Aboriginal peoples.

To help you do this answer the following questions:

1.Learn about salmon and record information on aboriginal fisheries. You must:

find out about the salmon species that were caught in differnet parts of BC
find out what eulachon are and their habits.

2. First Nations also harvested quantities of other species of fish. Include in your project:

information on one other fish species that the people used.

Several species of fish provided food for First Nation peoples: Salmon
chum	pink
sockeye	coho
chinook	Species go to: The Five Pacific Salmon Species -- http://www.hitime.com/ sdscptn.htm#Chinook NOAA's National Fisheries Service Species Identification and Information

B. Compare the different ways that Aboriginal Peoples caught the fish that they lived upon?

To help you do this answer the following questions:

1. Find an image of each tool and include this with your project. An image of:

nets
weirs and traps
hooks, small tools and harpoons .

Use the following web sites (or any other) to describe how each tool was used.

First Nations in Canada at http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/ hhistory/beautyoftechno.html
First Nation's People on BC's Coast at http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/ mroth/438/environment/ firstpeoples.html.

C. Compare the ways that different Aboriginal Peoples travelled upon the sea and the inland waters?

To help you do this answer the following questions:

1. First Nations People travelled and traded up and down the coast and on the rivers and lakes in large dugout canoes. They traded for food, slaves, shells, and tools. Create a picture of two different dugout canoes being sure that the following are in your picture. Show how:

how dugout canoes were constructed
what tools and materials were used in their construction.

Online resources for this section can be found at the following sites:

First Nations in Canada at
http://www.rlc.dcccd.edu/ Mathsci/anth/104/pacific.htm
First Nations of Canada at http://www.vpl.ca/branches/ LibrarySquare/his/StudyGuides/ traditional_life.htm
Haida: Canoes at http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/
Exhibitions/Haida/java/english/canoe/ intro1.html
Canoe and Kayak at http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/ Traditions/English/ north_america_canoe_racing_04.html

Eulachon were dried and a wick inserted so that it would burn like a candle. First Nations people have traditionally used the eulachon for food and for its very high oil content. The oil was also used for seasoning, preserving food, and for trading.

White Sturgeon http://www.psmfc.org/ habitat/ edu_wsturg_fact.html	Halibut Fisheries and Oceans Backgrounder on Halibut http://www-comm.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/english/ release/ bckgrnd/2000/ bg0013e.htm
Pacific Herring Herring & Minor Finfish - Pacific Region ^{http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/ops/fm/Herring/ ROE/biology_herring.htm}	Lingcod http:// www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/english/ programs/ fhiip/ species/lingcod.htm Groundfish - Pacific Region Lingcod http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/ops/fm/ Groundfish/ Species/ lingcod.htm

Travel on the sea

Haida canoes, some as long as sixty feet, were prized as superior ocean-going craft all up and dow Goods being transported by canoe, ca. 1898.

n the North Pacific Coast, and were the major trade item offered by the Haida to their First Nations neighbours on the mainland.

Men hollowing out a canoe with adzes at Metlakatla, B.C., near Prince Rupert.

Travel on the sea

Technology and tools

Travelling throughout good and bad northern weathern needed many Innuit goggles

adaptations. View at Snow Travel in Ancient Canada at http://www.civilization.ca/aborig/

tsimsian/vilintre.html

Tools

This hook is carved with an image of Sea-Lion swallowing a fish. BC Archives (VII-C-697)

Fishing for cod and halibut required extra-long lines of dried kelp with strong hooks.

Reserves of fish helped feed people during the winter, especially when it was difficult to find food. This picture shows salmon drying on racks in a Tsimshian village.

Hooks, small tools and harpoons - These tools were created to use with different species of fish and in different areas. For example, the Nootka of the Pacific Coast used the two-pronged harpoon for hunting seal. --

Photo from Public Archives Canada.

Photo by E.S. Curtis.

Technology and tools

Nets - The use of hand nets was an efficient way to catch salmon. Fishermen would stand on a rock platform and dip their nets into the water in order to catch fish.

Three technological developments for use in the activity of fishing were nets, weirs, traps, special hooks and harpoons.