Plateau Indians

Native American History

Brad Jones

Introduction
Cultural Marginality, can be
compared to the Northwest Coast,
Southwest, and Plains Indians.
Eastern Plateau adopted Plains life
ways. (Kootnei, Nez Perce, and
Flathead)
Roots were the primary food,
hunting was secondary.

Environment
The Columbia Plateau: Bounded by rocky mountains
to the east, Upper Frazer River to the North,
Cascade Mountains to the west, and the Great
Basin Desert to the south.
North to south, heavily forested mountains, rugged
trenches and plateaus.
Fraser and Columbia Rivers flow to the Pacific.
Mid-Columbia Region terrain included juniper and
sagebrush, below the Columbia was desert shrub.
30 inches of annual rainfall
Pre-contact population was 50,000.

Subsistence
Root consumption supplemented by
hunting/fishing.
Salmon was a major staple. (Columbia and
Fraser Rivers)
Kootenai, Nez Perce, and Flathead crossed the
Rockies for late summer/fall bison hunts after
obtaining horses.
Warfare was with Plains Indians.

Characteristics
Complex language diversity, influences from
Northwest Coast and Plains languages.
Most tribes were isolated, had no warfare, and
were extremely hard workers.
Common languages usually grouped
themselves together in small autonomous
villages.
Had no concept of village lands.

Sanpoil & Nespelem

A typical group of the Plateau Culture.
Lived along upper reaches of the Columbia River.
It was a rugged region with bitter cold winters.
Winter: Coalesced in bands and lived in communal
log houses.
Houses were semi-subterranean with a log center
post, plank roof, and a ladder entrance.
Dried roots were the primary winter subsistence.

Sanpoil & Nespelem

Seasonal Rounds
Winter: Hunted deer, elk, and antelope in the lean
winter months of food scarcity.
Deer were driven into a v-shaped enclosure by 15-20
men who were led by a spiritual leader (Dreamers).
Double row of evenly placed stakes running downhill
into a narrow valley.
Runners herd and killed the deer as quickly as
possible.
The quantity of the deer was proportional to the
leaders power.

Sanpoil & Nespelem

Seasonal Rounds
The winter had a lot of inactivity and with that came
dancing, storytelling, gambling, and shamanism,
Leggings and woven ponchos were worn during the
winter.
Spring- Bands journeyed to treeless meadows south
of the Columbia River
Dibbles were used to extract camas and bitterroot.
Women collected and redistributed roots back into
the ground.

Sanpoil & Nespelem

Seasonal Rounds
Spring- Camas and bitterroot were boiled,
roasted, eaten raw, made into pemmican
cakes, or dried for winter consumption.
May- Root camps embarked for fishing
grounds along the Columbia River.
May-October- Salmon runs and killed using
spears, trapping, and netting.
Mat villages adjacent to river.

Sanpoil & Nespelem

Seasonal Rounds
Summer- Salmon chiefs directed fishing
(Dreamers).
Every family got equal portions of the daily
catch.
Women cleaned and dried fish on outside
racks in the summer and over fire in a hut in
the fall.
Dried fish was stored in tule storage bags.
It took 2 weeks for fish to dry. If the weather
did not permit, small fires were used.

Sanpoil & Nespelem

Seasonal Rounds
A short channel was dug off the river, bottom
was covered with gravel to see fish runs, fish
weirs used for larger runs.
Summer shelter was windbreak/tipi structures
with marsh grass roofs.
Shamans watched and cared for the weirs, a
very distinguished position.
Taboo- Women were not allowed to cross trails
leading to a river or take water from the
stream

Sanpoil & Nespelem

Seasonal Rounds
Summer/Fall
There was an intense fear of witchcraft, people believing
that shamans could spoil fishing.
October- Hunting parties formed to head into the
mountains.
Hunting was a religious experience, Animal Dreamers lead
the hunts.
Taboos- Abstinence was practiced the night before the
hunt and no one was allowed to brag about their future
success.
Bear, wolf, rabbit and fox were also hunted.

Tribal characteristics
Clothing: Men wore breech cloths, women wore tree
bark/deer hair aprons.
Sweat baths were common to extract impurities.
Eyebrows were plucked to form a straight line, and facial
hair was plucked as well.
Sanpoil hid from their attackers, they strived for peace
and harmony.
Practiced egalitarianism, the thought that everything
was equal, people should get the same and be treated
the same. This was true for everything except for wives
and tools.

Social Organization
Nuclear family households, patrilocal
residences.
A prestige in marriage.
Village Level Politics: Chief, Sub Chief, and a
village council made up of men and women.
Chief and Sub Chief were hereditary positions.
They were skilled in arbitration (settling
arguments).
Chiefs had spokesmen, and they selected
their own Sub Chief. (had to be from a certain
family.

Social Organization
Chief decided major crimes, gave permission
for revenge
Stealing, assault, and rape was punished by
whipping.
Religion was based on vision quests.
Men fasted to acquire Animal Helpers.
There were 6 supernatural deities. (a being
that is thought to be holy, divine and sacred)

6 Deities
1) Sweat Lodges-Contained spirits: prayer offered in form of a
song.
2) Soul- Gave life to the body. After death, the soul went to
Land Beyond or remained as a ghost. People were afraid of
ghosts and the house was burned if someone died in it.
3) Ghost- Were considered dangerous and frightening.
4) Non-Human Spirits in Animal Form- Spirit helpers
remained by vision seekers. The seeker evoked help from his
power spirit.
5) Spirit Ghosts- When a shaman died, his soul and the
souls of his animal helpers remained on Earth.
6) Dangerous Supernatural Beings- Evil Spirits, ogres and
monsters.

Religion/medicine
Souls went to Land of the Beyond.
Ghosts went along the Milky Way to Heaven.
Bad people stayed on Earth.
2 types of Diseases
1) Natural- Headaches, accidents, etc..
2) Supernatural- Caused by animals and the
worst was caused by Shamans.