Salish, Central Coast

Central Coast Salish share the same culture but speak 4 distinct languages of the Coast Salish language family. They occupied contiguous territories in and adjacent to the Lower Fraser Valley, on southeast Vancouver Island and on intervening San Juan and Gulf Islands. Three of these groups are known by indigenous names: Halkomelem, the largest group, and Squamish bear the names for their respective languages; Nooksack, now entirely in Washington state, is an anglicization of the native name by which other Coast Salish groups knew them. The fourth group, living in both BC and Washington state, has no all-encompassing name for itself and is currently known as Straits Salish.

Keywords

Native Tribes

The Central Coast Salish area, with a mild and relatively dry climate, had rich and varied resources. Paramount were tremendous annual runs of salmon which ascended the Fraser and Squamish rivers from May through November. Members of all 4 groups fished the Fraser, but most favourably situated were Halkomelem, who fished with dip nets and large trawl nets towed between CANOES. Straits Salish perfected the reef net, a unique trap set between pairs of canoes at owned locations in the sea where Fraser-bound salmon were known to pass. Most salmon were caught in summer when surplus quantities could be dried on open-air racks.

Coast Salish Village of Quamichan
(Cowichan), Vancouver Island as it appeared in 1861. The gable-roofed building at the extreme right is a mission church. F. Dally photographer (courtesy Royal British Columbia Museum, Ethnology Division, photo 1459).

Social System

Large shed-roofed houses were built in villages, from which trips were made to gather seasonal resources. Life centered around the household groups consisting of extended families with a core or lineage of people linked through male or female lines of descent. Marriage with blood kin was not allowed; thus spouses usually came from different villages and networks of kinship linked people throughout Central Coast Salish territory. Special resource sites and ritual privileges were owned by lineages or kin groups, whose members worked co-operatively under the direction of esteemed leaders. There was a class structure with high and low classes as well as slaves. Class position was imprecise, without ranked lineages or titled positions, but people strove to maintain class standing by hard work, selective marriages and proper behaviour.

Summer and autumn were times for potlatches, when people from neighbouring villages were invited to feast and recognize the hosts' social position (see POTLATCH).

Religious Activity

Religious activity focused on spiritual helpers who conferred personal powers for hunting, doctoring or other human endeavours. These individual powers were celebrated during winter in rituals referred to as spirit dances. Some spirit powers took the form of hereditary cleansing rituals, performed with masks, effigies or decorated rattles (see NATIVE PEOPLE, RELIGION). Sculptural art found additional expression in tombs, house posts and implements (see NORTHWEST COAST NATIVE ART).

The early maritime fur trade, concentrated on the outer coast, did not directly affect Central Coast Salish, whose territory was first explored by Spanish and British ships in the early 1790s. In 1827 the HUDSON'S BAY CO established FORT LANGLEY in the centre of Halkomelem territory. In the late 19th century, as settlers were attracted to south Vancouver Island and the Fraser Valley, Central Coast Salish territory became the most heavily populated part of BC.

Population

There are more than 17 000 registered Central Coast Salish listed in 51 bands in BC, and over 2000 tribal members in Washington. Despite great changes of culture, distinctive rituals and religious expression survive, uniting small, dispersed villages and permitting the maintenance of a vigorous sense of native identity.

See also NATIVE PEOPLE: NORTHWEST COAST and general articles under NATIVE PEOPLE.

Author MICHAEL KEW

Links to Other Sites

Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples
The website for the "Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples." Click on the links for feature articles about Canada's many multicultural communities, access to their extensive digital archives collection, learning modules, and much more. From "Multicultural Canada."

Race Rocks Ecological Reserve
An extensive website devoted to the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. Offers detailed information about local First Nations history and present day environmental conservation programs.Produced by Pearson College and partner organizations.