The Neighbors of the Makah community are also known as 'Aliens'. They live at Neah bay with the Makah people, some of them are men and women and children who have lived with the Makah people in their homes. It was documented in 1942 that there was 410 Makah people, with 97 Makah households, 56 people or approximately 13.6% of them were Aliens of the Tribe.
The reasoning for a good amount of aliens is the fact the Makah tribe allow out of tribe marriages. Most of the neighbors are from groups on Washington or Vancouver island. Some examples of the other tribes these aliens came from would be, Silctz, Shoshone, Lummi, Sook, Cowichan, Nitiant, Clayoquet, Quinault, Quilcute, and Callam. There were other people who came to become residents of Neah Bay to work on construction projects in the Cape Flattery area. They came from the Quinaults, Quileutes, Lummi, Clallam and few Dakota tribes.
These neighboring tribes were interested in trading whale products with the Makah tribe, and in return would trade other products. The Makah tribe were not warlike people so they didn't have many conflicts with their neighbors, they are very accepting people.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Makah Cosmos
The Makah People have many different folk stories, myths, and legends. Some of their more important Mythological Figures include, Hohoeapbess also known as the Two Men Who Changed things, they are the brothers of the the sun and the moon who where put on the earth to create animals, people, and the land. The Raven is known as a cultural hero, it is known as a benevolent animal who helps people but is also known to get into a lot of trouble in most of the stories it appears in. Lastly the Basket Ogress is a giant monster who catches human children and puts them in their pack and takes them away to eat them.
One of the makah ledgends about the two men who changed things is a story about two men: the sun and the moon, who came to change humans into birds and animals, explain how animals and birds came to be on the earth. They changed their wife into a raven, and another into a crow, and gave them strong beaks to tear apart their food. Another story about the children stolen by the cannibal basket women is very similar to hansel and grettel. The story is about a group of children who went on a camping trip with their parents, they get kidnapped by Basket Ogress and she takes them to her cabin. She starts a fire of coals to prepare to cook the children. One of the children come up with an idea to push the Basket Ogress into the hot coals so they can run away, they successfully push her into the coals and run back to safety with their parents and tribe.
Makah legends, stories, and folk tales were a way to entertain the children and adults around the campsite, and to also extend their culture down the line of generations. Stay tuned for the next blog post about the birds of the Makah Culture!
One of the makah ledgends about the two men who changed things is a story about two men: the sun and the moon, who came to change humans into birds and animals, explain how animals and birds came to be on the earth. They changed their wife into a raven, and another into a crow, and gave them strong beaks to tear apart their food. Another story about the children stolen by the cannibal basket women is very similar to hansel and grettel. The story is about a group of children who went on a camping trip with their parents, they get kidnapped by Basket Ogress and she takes them to her cabin. She starts a fire of coals to prepare to cook the children. One of the children come up with an idea to push the Basket Ogress into the hot coals so they can run away, they successfully push her into the coals and run back to safety with their parents and tribe.
Makah legends, stories, and folk tales were a way to entertain the children and adults around the campsite, and to also extend their culture down the line of generations. Stay tuned for the next blog post about the birds of the Makah Culture!
Birds of the Makah
Birds are important to the Makah culture literally and figuratively. As said in the last blog post the Raven was an important Makah Mythological figure. But Birds have a different importance to the culture.
Olympic Bird Fest is a two-day birding experience at one of the most remote and wild birding areas of Washington State. You take a tribal van to bird filled hot spots. Also walk around cape flattery, and a boat trip to see mammals and pelagic sea birds that you don’t really see from land. Cape Flattery provides habitat for hundreds of species of birds. Murrelets and Murres are prized sightings. You can see mostly Shore birds, ducks and gulls. In the fall and spring you see Canadian geese, trumpeter swans, falcons, hawks and Sandhill cranes. Between January and April, hundreds of bald eagles 'winter over' from British Columbia on the coastline between Clallam Bay and Neah Bay. On a typical day, 50 or more eagles can be seen perched in the trees, especially at low tide.
Some birds that were only spotted once in 2014 in Clallam County are Bullock's Oriole, Rusty Blackbird, Harris's Sparrow, Townsend's Warbler, and Common Yellowthroat. Some of the most popular birds of the year would be the American Wigeon, counted 2000 times this year, the Northern Pintail counted 1000 times this year, the Brant seen 875 times this year. Below are some photos of birds found on or around the reservation.
Olympic Bird Fest is a two-day birding experience at one of the most remote and wild birding areas of Washington State. You take a tribal van to bird filled hot spots. Also walk around cape flattery, and a boat trip to see mammals and pelagic sea birds that you don’t really see from land. Cape Flattery provides habitat for hundreds of species of birds. Murrelets and Murres are prized sightings. You can see mostly Shore birds, ducks and gulls. In the fall and spring you see Canadian geese, trumpeter swans, falcons, hawks and Sandhill cranes. Between January and April, hundreds of bald eagles 'winter over' from British Columbia on the coastline between Clallam Bay and Neah Bay. On a typical day, 50 or more eagles can be seen perched in the trees, especially at low tide.
Some birds that were only spotted once in 2014 in Clallam County are Bullock's Oriole, Rusty Blackbird, Harris's Sparrow, Townsend's Warbler, and Common Yellowthroat. Some of the most popular birds of the year would be the American Wigeon, counted 2000 times this year, the Northern Pintail counted 1000 times this year, the Brant seen 875 times this year. Below are some photos of birds found on or around the reservation.
World of the Makah
Dating back to 1941,there were two types of residents on Neah Bay, the Makah's and the Whites. The whites that permanently reside on the reservation control most economic positions. They own the power plant, hotel, two stores, the fish jetty, and oil business. The Makah men work at the lumber company and the construction company that the white members own.
The Makah men have a few of their own business but are often patronized by the white members of the area. They own a filling station and garage, three tourist camps and two restaurants. The clan also owns a fish house, which is used for importing and exporting fish to independent fish buyer's who come to the village in the summer. By having this fish it it allows for maximum independence and also ability to make the prices to what they want. Only Makah people can own the land which makes them landlords of their piece of land, they can rent out rooms to residents but also have eviction rights. Makah people also have a good handle on firewood. They use the firewood to cook meals and heat their houses.
Makah women have jobs as well, most of them work for the White families by coming in and helping with the laundry and cleaning. Makah people do not usually work for each other, except for positions in the restaurants owned by Makah people. Although Makah people work for white they do not have an inferior status to them economically.
The Makah people do not use the reservation as much as they have available to them so it has been rumored that they do not care about their reservation. The history of the Makah land explains that the makah people are almost bound entirely to the natural features of the region, in their myths and folk stories speak on how important the land is. The story The Two Men who Created Everything is a story about how the land and animals came to be. Stay tuned for the next blog that goes more into detail about the myths and cosmos of the Makah culture!
The Makah men have a few of their own business but are often patronized by the white members of the area. They own a filling station and garage, three tourist camps and two restaurants. The clan also owns a fish house, which is used for importing and exporting fish to independent fish buyer's who come to the village in the summer. By having this fish it it allows for maximum independence and also ability to make the prices to what they want. Only Makah people can own the land which makes them landlords of their piece of land, they can rent out rooms to residents but also have eviction rights. Makah people also have a good handle on firewood. They use the firewood to cook meals and heat their houses.
Makah women have jobs as well, most of them work for the White families by coming in and helping with the laundry and cleaning. Makah people do not usually work for each other, except for positions in the restaurants owned by Makah people. Although Makah people work for white they do not have an inferior status to them economically.
The Makah people do not use the reservation as much as they have available to them so it has been rumored that they do not care about their reservation. The history of the Makah land explains that the makah people are almost bound entirely to the natural features of the region, in their myths and folk stories speak on how important the land is. The story The Two Men who Created Everything is a story about how the land and animals came to be. Stay tuned for the next blog that goes more into detail about the myths and cosmos of the Makah culture!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Neah Bay Washington: Homeland of the Makah
The Makah tribe reside at the Northwest corner of the Olympic peninsula in Washington State. The pacific ocean and the Strait of Juan de Fuca border the reservation. Streams, creaks, and the ocean provide resources for the area. The Makah reservation is approximately 42 square miles and lies about 2000 feet above mean sea level. The Land is rugged and Hilly and has steep slopes and narrow valleys.
On the contrary the Sooes and Waatch rivers are low, broad and swampy. In the swampy pools there are yellow flags of skunk cabbage. The reservation has rocky cliffs near the Waatch and Sooes river that create a beach that runs for several miles. On the Coast the ocean creates very rough and dangerous rip tides. But today the buoys and lighthouse help keep the area safe. Also bordering the shores are multiple fishing banks in the ocean and in the strait.
The makah tribe is very connected to the landscape and uses every bit of it. Below ill add some pictures of the beautiful landscape. Stay tuned for next weeks blog about how the makah culture make their living: The world of the Makah culture!
The shoreline and the Fuca Pillar
The Neah Bay Marina
A sealion haul out near Tatoosh Island
The Sooes Beach
On the contrary the Sooes and Waatch rivers are low, broad and swampy. In the swampy pools there are yellow flags of skunk cabbage. The reservation has rocky cliffs near the Waatch and Sooes river that create a beach that runs for several miles. On the Coast the ocean creates very rough and dangerous rip tides. But today the buoys and lighthouse help keep the area safe. Also bordering the shores are multiple fishing banks in the ocean and in the strait.
The makah tribe is very connected to the landscape and uses every bit of it. Below ill add some pictures of the beautiful landscape. Stay tuned for next weeks blog about how the makah culture make their living: The world of the Makah culture!
The shoreline and the Fuca PillarThe Neah Bay Marina A sealion haul out near Tatoosh IslandThe Sooes BeachSaturday, February 15, 2014
History of the Makah
The Makah Culture originating from the northwestern tip of Washington State, United States consists of 5 permanent villages. All housed along the shore the Waatch, Deah, Ozette, Bahaada, and soles, inhabit two to four thousand Makah natives in the early 1800's. The Makah Tribe is actually pronounced Muh-Kaw and is the name that the English gave them. They call themselves Qwiqwidicciat which means people of the point. During the beginning of the Makah timeline the environment is what they knew most about, activities like whaling, fishing and hunting.
Whaling was one of the biggest traditions of the Makah tribe. In the late 1700's the Makah tribe took a turn for the worst, after an encounter with europeans the tribe withered down because of small pox, tuberculosis, influenza and whooping cough. In hopes to save the tribe and culture the Makah tribe signed the Treaty of the Neah Bay with the United states on January 31, 1855 to protect Themselves against further troubles. With that the Makah culture continued to thrive on the land and sea of the area and became the successful culture that they are today. Stay tuned to next weeks blog post about the physical landscape of the homeland of the Makah Culture!
Whaling was one of the biggest traditions of the Makah tribe. In the late 1700's the Makah tribe took a turn for the worst, after an encounter with europeans the tribe withered down because of small pox, tuberculosis, influenza and whooping cough. In hopes to save the tribe and culture the Makah tribe signed the Treaty of the Neah Bay with the United states on January 31, 1855 to protect Themselves against further troubles. With that the Makah culture continued to thrive on the land and sea of the area and became the successful culture that they are today. Stay tuned to next weeks blog post about the physical landscape of the homeland of the Makah Culture!
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