Native American Culture

Cultural Comparison, The Pacific Coast and Great Basin or Plateau

Apr 11, 2009

Prior to the introduction of European ways, Native Americans of the Pacific Coast lead lives culturally distinct from the Indians of the Great Basin or Plateau areas.

There were some similarities among natives of the Plateau and Great Basin regions but there were many differences, but for both the Plateau and Great Basin Indians it can be said that their life was harder, and less settled than the natives of the coastal areas.

The Pacific Coast and Great Basin Indians Compared

Coastal natives had lives of abundance with ample food, mild winters and leisure time. The interior natives had a harder life, although they also fished for salmon, the meat diet was supplemented to a much greater extent with land animals. The camas bulb, a milder cousin of the onion, was described by historian Schwantes as “second in importance only to fish in their diet, resembled small onions and were eaten cooked or raw.” The Plateau Indians moved their camps from place to place depending on the season so that during salmon season they would camp out on the banks of a river and then move their camp to the camas fields during camas picking season. This would often be a time when the various Nez Perce tribes would come together to harvest the camas and enjoy games and trade.

Native Government and Territory Concepts, Plateau Indians

The Plateau tribes had a governing body of democratically elected elder tribal leaders. There was no centralized leader over the entire tribe, a concept not understood by the whites, or perhaps taken advantage of when it came time to negotiate and sign treaties. While the Plateau natives had home territories the borders were not clearly marked. They had an idea of where their hunting or gathering grounds were located and they “regarded intruders on their hunting and gathering grounds as trespassers.” This often led to conflicts with the whites. As an example when Colonel Steptoe traveled from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Colville he ignored the territorial rights of the Spokane Indians crossing over their territory without permission. This led to a confrontation and the expulsion of Steptoe from the territory, which in turn leads to the George Wright expedition of 1858 and the defeat of the Indians.

The Horse and the Plateau Indians

The Plateau Indians acquired the horse in the 1700s which greatly affected the way of life, increasing the hunting of land animals, and proving greater mobility. The horse became known as a symbol of a tribe’s wealth, so that when Wright ordered the slaughter of 900 horses after his victory over the Spokane Tribe and their allies, it crushed the tribe so completely that they never recovered.

Great Basin Indians

The Great Basin natives of southern Idaho, eastern Oregon, Nevada and Utah were even more mobile that the Plateau Indians. Small individual bands would spend their time wandering from one location to another in search of water, food or firewood. There was little tribal unity and each band took care of their own group. Annually several bands would gather at the confluence of the Boise and Snake rivers to trade and celebrate the opening of the fishing season. Another annual gathering occurred at the Grand Dalles where coastal Indians would meet to trade with Plateau and Great Basin Indians.

Carlos A. Schwantes, The Pacific Northwest, An Interpretive History, Revised and Enlarged, 1996.

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