Chinook Tribe

The Chinook tribe is a Native American tribe that controlled most of the northern mouth of the Columbia River. This is where they originally settled, where they understood the very basics of civilization and community. This is where they began to understand nature and knew the mechanics of how the world works. The environment played a vital role in this because of the surrounding bodies of water and green vegetation throughout the place.

They had an organized community which consists of plank houses, instead of tribes. These plank houses are similar to tribes but they differ in terms of ideologies and division of responsibilities.

Chinook Tribe

The people who were in the northwestern part of the region find it customary to decorate their skins with various ornaments and tattoos as this was a form of upgrading their selves into something greater and more interesting. They are also known to reshape their heads, as this was the custom of their people. They find it beautiful to see their heads flattened.

This led to their drastic change in appearance where you can easily spot the difference between a Chinook from the other Native American tribes. They are also called as the Flatheads, as their heads are flattened.

Chinook Tribe
The Chinooks are a curious people as they find pleasure in knowing more about their surroundings. They wanted to understand how nature works such as why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. They were interested in medicine and science and even looked to the skies to search for answers in their destiny. They were curious and wanted to mingle with people and other tribes to know more about the world and the universe. In short, they were open-minded.

Totem Poles is one of the most famous things that these Chinooks are known for. They are one of the other tribes who erect Totem Poles in the Northwest.

Chinook Indians

The Chinook Indians wanted to erect these Totem Poles because these symbolize the guardian spirits that guard them against the dangers of the world. These were carved with animal images as it is thought that animals are not inferior but instead have the same status and even sometimes superior to men.

The Tlingit, Haida, Bella Coola, Tsimshian and the Coast Salish were some of the other tribes that used Totem Poles together with the Chinook people. They are situated on the Northwest Coast of the United States, thus, they belong to the Northwest Coast Native American cultural group.

Chinook Tribe Geography

The geography together with the topography of the region where they live in dictates the lifestyle, culture, and perspectives in life, the Chinook people have. This shows that the environment and surrounding from which a Native American tribe lives in work closely with how they live and view life. For the Chinook Indians, the gloomy and rainy climate of the American northwest proved to be the workings of the spirits in nature, thus making them more of a superstitious tribe when compared to the other Native American tribes out there.

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