North West Coast Native Art

North West Coast natives groups, such as the Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwakiutl, Nootka, and Salish, developed woodcarving techniques to make tools, houses, dugout canoes, totem poles, as well as masks, bowls, and ladles.

Perhaps the most famous creations of this region were the great carved and painted totem poles, some extending to 70 or 80 feet in height.

The use of a great range of masks in ceremonies, both for the usual religious needs and for social control or prestige, is well known; often these portray legendary personages, or they may represent mythological beings.

In the more elaborate types of masks, the performer may increase the dramatic effect by the use of strings so attached as to make the masks move at will.

North West Coast human and animal figures were stylised to abstraction in this work. Expressed in wood, bone, metal, ivory, and textiles, these creations are often inlaid with shell or metal and painted in strong designs.

Ivory, was regarded as a precious material and carved in a variety of forms; sometimes colour was rubbed into the designs for greater contrast.

In addition, they made basketry and clothing by twining, and produced metalwork weapons and jewellery.

Large flocks of mountain sheep and goats made available a quantity of thick woolly hair, which was harvested, spun, and woven into garments and objects.

The finished products were most often used as ornaments or charms, attached to the costume of a chief or shaman.

Farther south, in areas luxurious in forest growth lived the Indians of Oregon and California.

The major arts found in this region had their inspiration in the heavy undergrowth of grasses and brush, which made fine basketry possible, resulting in some of the loveliest woven containers in the world.

A tremendous range of design and style is encountered here. This artistry remains the most impressive of North American Indian achievements in aesthetics; the combination of a narrative, historical, and genealogical record.