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| Plateau culture | |
|---|---|
| Name | Plateau culture |
| Region | Columbia Plateau, Nez Perce, Plateau region |
| Languages | Sahaptian, Interior Salish, Kootenai |
| Peoples | Nez Perce, Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs, Coeur d'Alene, Kalispel, Spokane, Bannock, Blackfeet |
| Significant sites | Columbia River Gorge, Snake River, Missouri River, Palouse Falls, Grand Ronde |
Plateau culture Plateau culture refers to the Indigenous lifeways and regional traditions of communities in the Columbia Plateau and adjacent high plains, centered on riverine and upland environments. It encompasses diverse Nez Perce, Yakama Nation, Umatilla, Warm Springs, Coeur d'Alene, Spokane and related peoples, their material practices, seasonal rounds, and ceremonial systems. Archaeological, ethnohistorical, and linguistic research by institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, Washington State University, University of Idaho, and British Columbia scholars has charted continuities and adaptations from precontact through contemporary revitalization.
Plateau lifeways were organized around major waterways like the Columbia River, Snake River, and Okanogan River, with seasonal salmon runs at sites such as Celilo Falls, hunting on the Palouse and Blue Mountains, and trade along overland routes connecting to the Great Basin and Northern Plains. Interactions with neighboring groups including Coast Salish, Klamath, Shoshone, and Nez Perce War-era contacts with Euro-American entities such as the Hudson's Bay Company and the Lewis and Clark Expedition shaped material exchange and disease transmission. Ethnographers like Franz Boas, Ruth Benedict, and James Teit recorded Plateau songs, narratives, and technologies now held in collections at the American Museum of Natural History and the Field Museum.
Archaeological evidence from sites excavated by teams from University of Washington and Idaho State University indicates occupation dating to the Paleo-Indian and Archaic period horizons, with late prehistoric intensification tied to anadromous fish exploitation. Trade networks extended to the Great Salt Lake, Yellowstone, and Rockies, intersecting material items like trade beads linked to the Hudson's Bay Company and metal artifacts associated with the fur trade. Epidemics introduced during early contacts with European-American expeditions—such as parties tied to the Oregon Trail and Pacific Fur Company—altered demography prior to treaties negotiated with representatives of the United States and settler militias during the mid-19th century, including accords like the Treaty of 1855 (Walla Walla Council).
Plateau-speaking populations represent branches of the Sahaptian languages and Interior Salish languages, with subgroups including Niimiipuutímt and Walla Walla. Neighboring non-Plateau tongues such as Kootenay (Kutenai), Shoshoni, and Chinook Jargon influenced multilingualism and intermarriage. Linguists at University of Montana, University of British Columbia, and University of Oregon have documented endangered varieties, producing grammars, dictionaries, and pedagogical materials used by tribal language programs at institutions like Fort Lewis College and tribal colleges such as Salish Kootenai College.
Social organization combined lineage-based kinship with flexible band affiliations for seasonal resource scheduling, featuring prominent clans and named lineages comparable to patterns described among the Nez Perce and Yakama. Leadership roles—war leaders, feast organizers, and elder councils—are attested in ethnographies by Edwin Loeb and Melville Jacobs and in oral histories archived at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI). Ceremonial reciprocity and potlatch-like exchanges paralleled practices among Coast Salish groups, while intertribal marriage connected families to trading partners among the Blackfoot and Kootenai.
Material culture emphasized woven baskets, tule mats, fishing technologies, and elaborated skin garments; artisans produced basketry traditions now exhibited at the Seattle Art Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian. Salmon preservation and smokehouses at sites like Celilo Falls supported storage systems described in ethnographic works by W. J. Hoffman and George Hunter. Hunting tools, including atlatls in earlier contexts and composite bows later, connected to plains exchanges with groups such as the Cree and Assiniboine. Trade routes carried dentalium and obsidian sourced from the Obsidian Cliff region near Yellowstone and shell artifacts from the Pacific Coast.
Spiritual life integrated animal spirit helpers, shamanic healing, vision quests, and salmon-centric ceremonies; ceremonial specialists are documented in missionary accounts and field notes at the Bureau of American Ethnology. Sweat lodge use, song cycles, and seasonal feasts structured ritual calendars in ways comparable to neighboring Coast Salish and Plateau ceremonial systems. Sacred places included river confluences and mountain peaks such as Mount Adams, Mount Hood, and Mount St. Helens, which feature in narratives preserved by elders and recorded by folklorists like Ella Clark.
Plateau arts comprise basketry, beadwork, painted hide robes, and ephemeral performance practices; musical forms include distinct sung narratives, courting songs, and drum and rattle accompaniments recorded on early wax cylinders in collections at the Library of Congress. Story cycles recount the exploits of cultural heroes and trickster figures tied to landscape features like Grand Ronde and Palouse River, and storytellers collaborated with collectors such as Frank Hamilton Cushing and Edward Curtis—whose publications influenced public perceptions but also generated controversies over representation.
Contemporary Plateau communities address treaty rights, fishery restoration, language revitalization, and repatriation through institutions like the Colville Confederated Tribes, Nez Perce Tribe, Yakama Nation, and advocacy networks engaging the National Congress of American Indians and the Native American Rights Fund. Environmental litigation over dam removals at sites like the Elwha River Dam and policy debates involving the Bonneville Power Administration impact salmon restoration initiatives. Cultural preservation projects partner with universities including Washington State University, Oregon State University, and museums such as the Portland Art Museum to support language nests, archive digitization, and educational curricula in tribal schools and community colleges like Chief Dull Knife College and Salish Kootenai College.