The
larger of the canoes was ornamented with the figure
of a bear in the bow, and a man in the stern, both
nearly as large as life, both made of painted wood,
and very neatly fixed to the boat. In the same canoe
were two Indians finely dressed with round hats. Lewis
& Clark Journals describing two canoes emerging
from behind present day Hayden Island, Monday, November
4, 1805
Below. The inside of a Chinookan house
displays artwork reflecting a complex society. Watercolor
by Paul Kane. Courtesy of Stark Foundation The
abundance of resources provided by the Columbia River
and its floodplain facilitated development of a complex,
class-based society. Food, clothing, and high-ranking
spouses indicated status. The Chinook made distinctions
between free persons and slaves, and upper and lower
classes, with head flattening as a sign of freedom.
Although slaves, usually obtained by trade from the
north, down the coast, and from the far south, were
often treated like family, they could be assigned
the most difficult work and had no rights over their
own bodies. Unlike the Chinook with flattened heads,
the round heads of slaves symbolized their foreign
status.
Most
mid-nineteenth century White emigrants benefited from
Indian labor, paid and unpaid. The Hudson's Bay Company
and the U.S. military regularly employed Indians as
guides and for other manual labor, and in the 1850s
Willamette Valley settlers often purchased slaves
for farmwork.
Chinookan
people were expert woodworkers, utilizing cedar
and other plant materials extensively. They
often constructed elaborate 30- to-35-foot canoes
out of single trees.
This wooden bowl and ladel
were typical expertly designed Chinookan household
items. Utensils were also carved from bone,
wood, shell, and cedar bark; or woven from
spruce roots, beargrass, and cattail rushes.
Antler and horn were also important materials,
and the Chinook used stones for net-weights
and for boiling and steaming food.
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution,
Department of Anthropology
The
abundance of resources provided by the Columbia River
and its floodplain facilitated development of a complex,
class-based society. Food, clothing, and high-ranking
spouses indicated status. The Chinook made distinctions
between free persons and slaves, and upper and lower
classes, with head flattening as a sign of freedom.
Although slaves, usually obtained by trade from the
north, down the coast, and from the far south, were
often treated like family, they could be assigned
the most difficult work and had no rights over their
own bodies. Unlike the Chinook with flattened heads,
the round heads of slaves symbolized their foreign
status. 
