Native American Facts For Kids was written for young people learning about the Kwakiutl tribe for school or home-schooling reports. We encourage students
and teachers to visit our main Kwakiutl website
for in-depth information
about the tribe, but here are our answers to the questions we are most often asked by children, with
Kwakiutl pictures and links we believe are suitable for all ages.
Kwakiutl Tribe
How do you pronounce the word "Kwakiutl"?
What does it mean?
It is usually pronounced "kwah-kee-oo-tl." This is an English pronunciation of a place name from their own language,
Kwagu'ł, which is actually pronounced closer to kwah-gyoolth.
Their own name for themselves is longer and harder to pronounce, Kwakwaka'wakw.
Today, some Kwakiutl people use "Kwakwaka'wakw" to refer to themselves and others use "Kwakiutl."
Where do the Kwakiutls live?
The Kwakiutl Indians are original people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. They live in British Columbia, Canada.
How is the Kwakiutl Indian nation organized?
Each Kwakiutl community has its own reserve, or reservation.
Reserves are land that belongs to a Native American tribe and is legally under their control.
Each Kwakiutl tribe--known as a band or First Nation in Canada--is
politically independent and has its own leadership. The fifteen Kwakiutl bands each have their own
government, laws, police, and services, just like small countries. However, the Kwakiutls are also Canadian citizens and must obey Canadian law.
What language do the Kwakiutl Indians speak?
Almost all Kwakiutl people speak English today, but some Kwakiutls, especially elders, also speak their native
Kwakiutl language, which is also known as Kwak'wala.
Kwakwala is a complicated language with many sounds that don't exist in English.
If you'd like to know an easy Kwak'wala word, "gilakasla" (sounds a little like gee-lah-kah-slah, with a hard 'g' as in 'go') is a friendly greeting.
You can also read a Kwak'wala picture dictionary here.
What was Kwakiutl culture like in the past? What is it like now?
Here's a link to the homepage of the Kwakiutl First Nation in Canada.
There you can find information about the Kwakiutl tribe in the past and today.
How do Kwakiutl Indian children live, and what did they do in the past?
They do the same things any children do--play with each other, go to school and help around the house.
Many Kwakiutl children like to go hunting and fishing with their fathers. In the past, Indian kids had more
chores and less time to play, just like early colonial children. But they did have dolls,
toys and games to play.
Like many Native Americans, Kwakiutl mothers traditionally carried their babies in
cradleboards
on their backs--a custom which many American parents have
adopted now.
What were men and women's roles in the Kwakiutl tribe?
Kwakiutl women gathered plants, herbs and clams and did most of the child care and cooking. Men were fishermen and hunters and sometimes went to war to protect
their families. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. The Kwakiutl chief was always a man, but the clan leaders
could be either men or women.
What were Kwakiutl homes like in the past?
The Kwakiutls lived in coastal villages of rectangular cedar-plank houses with bark roofs. Usually these houses were large (up to 100 feet long) and
each one housed several familes from the same clan (as many as 50 people.)
Here are some pictures of American Indian houses like
the ones Kwakiutl Indians used. Today, old-fashioned buildings like these are still made from cedar wood, but they are only used for ceremonial
purposes. Kwakiutl people live in modern houses and apartment buildings, just like you.
What was Kwakiutl clothing like? Did they wear feather headdresses and face paint?
Kwakiutl men didn't usually wear clothing at all, though some men wore a breech clout.
Women wore short skirts made of cedar bark. In colder weather, both genders wore knee-length tunics, long cloaks of shredded cedar bark, and
moccasins on their feet.
For formal occasions, Kwakiutl people wore more elaborate outfits, with tunics, leggings and cloaks painted with tribal designs.
Some important and wealthy Kwakiutls wore the spectacular Chilkat blankets, which were woven from cedar bark
and mountain goat hair. Here is a website on
Northwest Indian clothes and textiles,
and some photos and links
about Indian costume in general.
The Kwakiutls didn't wear long headdresses like the
Sioux. Instead, both men and women sometimes wore
basketry hats made of finely woven spruce root.
The designs and patterns of these hats often displayed a person's status and family connections.
The Kwakiutls did not usually paint their faces, but they did paint their hair red for festive occasions, and sometimes wore
tribal tattoo art in stylized animal designs.
Kwakiutl women wore their hair long and loose or in two long braids, while men often coiled theirs into a topknot. Like other Northwestern Indians,
Kwakiutl men often wore mustaches and beards.
Today, some Kwakiutl people still have a traditional cloak or basket hat, but they wear modern clothes like jeans instead of breechcloths.
What was Kwakiutl transportation like in the days before cars? Did they paddle canoes?
Yes--the Kwakiutl Indian tribe made large dugout canoes by hollowing out cedar logs.
The Kwakiutl tribe used these canoes to travel up and down the sea coast for trading, fishing and hunting, and warfare.
Their most impressive war canoes, which could be more than sixty feet long and withstand ocean storms, were bought from the
Haida tribe, who had access to the best cedar trees and were
considered the best canoe-makers by the other Northwest Coast tribes.
Here is a good website about Kwakiutl canoes.
Today, of course, Kwakiutl people also use cars... and non-native people also use canoes.
What was Kwakiutl food like in the days before supermarkets?
The Kwakiutl Indians were fishing people. Kwakiutl men caught fish and sea mammals from their canoes. They also hunted deer, birds, and small game.
Kwakiutl women gathered clams and shellfish, seaweed, berries, and roots.
What were Kwakiutl weapons and tools like in the past?
Kwakiutl fishermen used harpoons, nets, and wooden fish traps. Hunters used bows and arrows.
In war, Kwakiutl men fired their bows or fought with spears and war clubs. Some Kwakiutl warriors wore bulky armor made of wooden rods lashed together
to protect themselves from enemy archers.
What other Native Americans did the Kwakiutl tribe interact with?
The Kwakiutls traded regularly with all the other tribes of the Northwest Coast, particularly the
Tlingit and Haida
tribes. They especially liked to buy fine Tlingit weavings and Haida canoes.
The Northwest Coast tribes also fought each other frequently, raiding each other's villages to steal wealth and capture slaves.
What kinds of stories do the Kwakiutl Indians tell?
There are lots of traditional Kwakiutl legends and fairy tales. Storytelling is very important to the
Kwakiutl Indian culture. Here is one Kwakiutl legend about
the origin of totem poles.
What about Kwakiutl religion?
Religions are too complicated and culturally sensitive to describe appropriately
in only a few simple sentences, and we strongly want to avoid misleading anybody. You can visit this site to learn more about the
Kwakiutl religion
or this site about Native American religion in general.
Can you recommend a good book for me to read?
There are not many books for kids specifically about the Kwakiutl tribe. Older kids may want to read
The Kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia,
a book for adults about Kwakiutl culture and history. You could also read a book about another Northwest Indian tribe closely related to the
Kwakiutl, such as Jason's New Canoe
(a fiction story about a Nootka boy) or Clamshell Boy
(a picture book based on a Makah legend.)
Meet Lydia is an illustrated biography
of a modern Tlingit girl which makes a great introduction to Northwest Coast Indian life in general.
If you want to know more about Kwakiutl culture and history, two possibilities are
The Kwakiutl Indians and
The Kwakiutl.
You can also browse through our reading list of recommended Native American books in general.
How do I cite your website in my bibliography?
You will need to ask your teacher for the format he or she wants you to use. The authors' names are Laura Redish and
Orrin Lewis and the title of our site is Native Languages of the Americas. We are a nonprofit educational organization
working to preserve and protect Native American languages and culture. You can learn more about our organization
here. Our website was first created in 1998 and last updated in
2011.
Thanks for your interest in the Kwakiutl Indian people and their language!
Indian cultures
Kwakiutl Indian Fact Sheet
Kwakiutl Indian Tribe
Contacts and FAQ page
