Art Of The Northwest Coast

Art form passed from generation to generation. Used for food storage and trade. Tall tree used in many art forms. Important part of ceremonies, sign of persons status or rank. Made by the Tlingit out of goats wool and yellow cedar bark. A celebration including feasting, songs, and Dance. Important protection from rain and sun. Made from a single plank of cedar and used for storage, cooking and symbols of wealth. Art passed from father to son with only official carvers allowed to create. Carved from a Western Red Cedar with both animal and human forms, including six different ones. Created by women using softened cedar bark strips or cattails, colored grasses used as accents. Red, Black and Yellow were the most common ones used. Symbol of nobility. Name of symbols used on a Totem Poles which were statements about group membership and identity. This Totem was created to force a person of high standing to meet or recognize an obligation. These were worn during dance ceremonies family clan and status was known just by the design. These were staged performances with masked dancers creating illusions of death or contact with supernatural powers.