Table Of ContentSINCE KWATYAT LIVED ON EARTH:
AN EXAMINATION OF NUU-CHAH-NULTHC ULTURE HISTORY
Alan D. McMillan
B.A., University of Saskatchewan
M.A., University of British Columbia
THESIS SUBMI'ITED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
in the
Department of Archaeology
O Alan D. McMillan
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
January 1996
All rights reserved. This work may not be
reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy
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APPROVAL
Name: Alan D. McMillan
Degree Doctor of Philosophy
Title of Thesis Since Kwatyat Lived on Earth: An Examination
of Nuu-chah-nulth Culture History
Examining Committe:
Chair: J. Nance
Roy L. Carlson
Senior Supervisor
Philip M. Hobler
David V. Burley
Internal External Examiner
Madonna L. Moss
Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon
External Examiner
Date Approved: krb,,,) 1s l w b
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Title of Thesis/Project/Extended Essay
Since Kwatyat Lived on Earth: An Examination of
Nuu-chah-nulth Culture History
Author: - A
(signature)
Alan D. McMillan
(name)
January 19, 1996
(date)
ABSTRACT
This study examines the culture history of the related Nuu-chah-nulth,
Ditidaht, and Makah peoples, whose historic territory encompasses western
Vancouver Island and the northwestern Olympic Peninsula. Although
archaeological research began relatively late in this area, the greatly expanded
pace of recent fieldwork now allows an integrated assessment of their cultural
heritage. The West Coast culture type, previously proposed for this area on
limited archaeological data, is assessed against more recent evidence for
diachronic trends and regional differences.
An historical and multi-faceted approach is employed, integrating data
from archaeology, historical linguistics, and aboriginal oral traditions, along with
ethnography and ethnohistory for later time periods, in a cultural historical
synthesis. Recent research with the Toquaht, a small Nuu-chah-nulth group in
western Barkley Sound, provides much of the archaeological data for this study.
Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggest a southward movement of
Nuu-chah-nulth peoples from an original homeland on northern or north-western
Vancouver Island. The ancestors of the Ditidaht and Makah split off from the
parent stock and settled in their historic territories in relatively recent times.
Over the last two millennia the ethnographic cultures gradually developed in
their present territories. The destructive events of the early contact period
resulted in significant cultural restructuring, particularly involving changes in
political organization and settlement pattern. The West Coast culture type
masks significant temporal change in Nuu-chah-nulth culture history, which is
best seen in the framework of an evolving tradition.
"Kwatyat,t he one of many tricks . . . ."
(Sapir and Swadesh 1939:51)
"Quawteaht[ Kwatyat] . . . . , while on earth, lived at the Toquaht river"
(Sproat 1868:19)
Kwatyat was the culture hero and transfomer figure of the Barkley
Sound Nuu-chah-nulth.H is exploits are reflected at many locations on the Nuu-
chah-nulth cultural landscape.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I owe a debt of gratitude to the committee members. I thank Roy Carlson
for encouraging me @ I pursue this degree and for taking the role of mentor during
my studies. He also served as Senior Supervisor for the preparation of this
dissertation. Philip Hobler offered invaluable advice, suggestions, and assistance
during the writing of this dissertation. In their extensive experience and
knowledge in Northwest Coast archaeology, both served as inspiration in my
own work. In addition, David Burley and Madonna Moss kindly took time from
their busy schedules to evaluate this work as external examiners. I thank them
all for their efforts.
I am also grateful for the support of several Nuu-chah-nulth bands during
my years of fieldwork on western Vancouver Island. In particular, I thank the
Toquaht Nation and Chief Bert Mack for their unwavering support and for
assistance in many aspects of the fieldwork. Bert Mack and Archie Thompson
also generously shared their knowledge of traditional Toquaht culture as part of
the ethnographic component of research. I also thank the Tseshaht Nation for
support during earlier fieldwork, and fondly remember the late Chief Adam
Shewish and the late Margaret Shewish for their hospitality and companionship
during our stay with them. Return visits for potlatches and other events have
provided welcome opportunities to continue to feel connected to the community.
The British Columbia Heritage Trust is gratefully acknowledged for
providing the primary funding for the Toquaht Archaeological Project. Additional
funding was provided by the Toquaht Nation, and through Challenge '91 and '92
grants administered by Douglas College and an Access to Archaeology grant
administered by the Toquaht Nation. The Department of Archaeology, Simon
Fraser University, provided boats and motors, surveying equipment, and much
of the field gear. Other equipment was provided by Douglas College and the
Toquaht Nation. The University of Manitoba also provided funding and other
support related to the analysis of faunal remains. Douglas College also supplied
administrative support and granted the author educational leave time to pursue
doctoral studies and to do some of the analysis for the Toquaht project.
Any synthesis rests of necessity on the works of others. I would like to
acknowledge my colleagues in Nuu-chah-nulth studies, with whom I have had
numerous discussions and exchanges of information over the years. These
include Dale Croes, John Dewhirst, Morley Eldridge, Gay Frederick, Jim
Haggarty, Dave Huelsbeck, Richard Inglis, Yvonne Marshall, Denis St. Claire,
Arnoud Stryd, and Gary Wessen. In response to my requests while preparing
this dissertation, Dale, John, Morley, and Gary kindly provided unpublished
information on their work. Particular gratitude is owed to Denis St. Claire, the
co-director of the Toquaht Archaeological Project, for his numerous
contributions during our long association in Nuu-chah-nulth fieldwork. Greg
Monks should also be acknowledged for providing the Toquaht project with his
expertise in faunal analysis. I thank all the above for their contributions and
apologize for where my summary or interpretation of their work differs from
their own perceptions.
More generally, various friends and colleagues have influenced my
thoughts on Northwest Coast archaeology through numerous discussions over
the years. In addition to people mentioned above, I would like to credit Knut
Fladmark, Dave Burley, Bjorn Simonsen, Ken Ames, and R.G. Matson.
Many other people contributed to this work in various ways. Randy
Bouchard kindly provided transcriptions of Nuu-chah-nulth terms. Doris Lundy,
Ian Whitbread, and Heather Moon of the Archaeology Branch, Victoria, sent me
unpublished reports, individual site records, and computer print-outs of site file
information. Terry Spurgeon took aerial photographs of the Toquaht sites, some
of which are included in this dissertation. In the Archaeology Department at
S.F.U., Andrew Barton provided assistance at many points in preparing for
fieldwork, while Ann Sullivan, Linda Bannister, and Lynda Przybyla efficiently
handled my many queries and pleas for assistance around the office.
As always, I thank my family for their tolerance of my absences during
fieldwork and my preoccupied state during writing. My wife, Gillian, has my
gratitude for her constant support and encouragement, as well as for preparing
most of the artifact drawings which appear in this dissertation.
vii
CONTENTS
List of Tables
List of Figures
1. Setting the Stage .... 1
Introduction ....1
Goals and Outline .... 1
Theoretical Perspective ....5
The West Coast People - Nuu-chah-nulth, Ditidaht and Makah ....9
Languages .... 9
Ethnographic Background ... 16
The Toquaht and their Neighbors ... 32
TheN uu-chah-nulth of Barkley Sound ...3 3
Toquaht Territory ...3 6
Toquaht Oral Traditions .. .42
2. Differing Approaches to the Nuu-chah-nulth Past .. .. 49
Oral Histories ... 49
Anthropological Theories ...5 4
Early Difisionist Views ...5 4
Ecological Models ...5 9
Historical Linguistics ... 62
Linguistic Models of Wakashan Origins and Expansion ...6 2
Linguistic and Oral History Evidence for Territorial Shifts ...6 5
Molecular Biology .. . 70
3. Archaeological Research in Nuu-chah-nulth Territory
Introduction
Nootka Sound and Hesquiat Harbour
Research in Nootka Sound
The Hesquiat Project
Clayoquot Sound to Barkley Sound
The Toquaht Archaeological Project
Shoemaker Bay and Little Beach
Other Archaeological Research
Ditidaht Territory
Olympic Peninsula
Ozette
Hoko River
Other Makah Area Sites
4. The Emergence of the West Coast Culture Type
Cultural Antecedents
Archaeological Evidence
Geological Factors
Definition of the West Coast Culture Type
The West Coast Culture Type to 2000 B.P.
Continuity and Change
Regional Variation and the "SdishanH ypothesis"
Emergence of the Ethnographic Pattern
5. The Late West Coast Culture Type
Subsistence and Settlement
Settlement Patterns
Whaling
Other Economic Aspects
Social Relations
Warfare
Trade
Status Distinctions
Ideology/Cosmology
Regional and Temporal Variation
6. The Transition to Recorded History
The Meeting of Two Cultures
Brief History
The Toquaht Case
The Twin Spectres: Disease and Warfare
Political and Settlement Pattern Changes
Nootka Sound
Barkley Sound
Culture Change and the "Ethnographic Present"
7. Discussion and Conclusions
References
