Trade and Contact between the Athapascan Regional Bands and the Northwest Coast Cultures

Dale R. Croes

doi:10.7273/000006410

This WSU Graduate School paper attempts to explain trade and contact relationships found in late prehistoric and early White contact periods among the Pacific Drainage Athapascans and the Northwest Coast of North America. The locations and subdivisions of these regional bands are shown on the following map, page 2 (after Osgood, 1958). The specific Athapascan and Coastal regions dealt with here are colored in yellow. The Athapascan regions will be handled consecutively, and certain regions will be grouped because of their interconnection with particular trade regions. The routes of trade, trade goods, and processes of exchange will be most of the criteria examined here, yet the cultural relationships, during this time period, will be the important data considered here, for it is in the realm of their relationships that they established their contacts. In other words, each group had culturally shared ideas on how to approach and exchange with other cultural groups, and these cultural connections for this time period will be considered important here following the assumption that the cultural view of groups towards trade resources from other groups can be considered similar to their cultural views towards other environmental resources sought by the group; the main difference being they have to develop, patterns towards other cultures rather than towards the environment. The important question here then is how were these cultural relationships characterized between the different regions and particularly between the coast and interior? It will be seen that the factors answering this question vary between each regional band and also varies through time.

Trade and Contact between the Athapascan Regional Bands and the Northwest Coast Cultures

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