Native American

Northwest Coast Indians
The Northwest Coast culture area comprises the offshore islands and Pacific Ocean coastal land from the Cooper River on the Gulf of Alaska to the Chetco River on the southern Oregon coast. This temperate climate, rich in natural resources, provided an ideal environment for the growth of stable communities. Tribal groups in this area include the Tlingit, the Haida, the Tsimshiandiff, the Kwakiutl, the Bella-Coola and the Nootka.

Northwest Coast people developed highly skilled wood-working techniques and intricate basket weaving designs. Women of this region approached basket weaving through three major traditions: plaited basketry, twined basketry and coiled basketry. Northwest Coast peoples lived in extended family groups and claimed descent from the animal-human ancestors. And, as a result, much of their art concerned the supernatural (Shamanism) and, in particular, the use of masks.

Mound Builders
The term "Mound Builders" refers to North American Indians who built large monuments of earth as burial places and as platforms to hold temples and houses of chiefs. The three main groups of the Mound Builders were the Adena, the Hopewell and the Mississippian.

The Adena culture began to build large burial mounds in about 700 B.C. in what is now southern Ohio. Their mounds are single heaps of earth made by piling dirt, stones and other materials over the dead. The size of the mound increased as bodies were added. Carved out of stone with the use of flint, effigy pipes were common gifts placed in the tombs. Images on the pipe included various animals such as the owl, hawk, eagle, dog, and raccoon. Other objects found in mound burial sites include copper ear ornaments and bracelets, necklaces of fresh water pearls, bear teeth, copper axes, pottery vessels and flint implements. The most famous Adena mound is Great Serpent Mound, near Hillsboro, Ohio.

Columbia Encyclopedia
North American Native Art
http://www.bartleby.com/65/na/NAmNtvart.html

National Park Service
Hopewell Culture
http://www.nps.gov/hocu/

Carnegie Museum of Natural History
The Tlingit of the Northwest Coast
http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmnh/exhibits/north-south-east-west/tlingit/

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