Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets Native Americans

Native Americans of the Northwest Coast Area Native Americans

---

Native Americans of the Northwest Coast Area
Print Native Americans of the Northwest Coast Area Reading Comprehension with Fourth Grade Work

Print Native Americans of the Northwest Coast Area Reading Comprehension with Fifth Grade Work

Print Native Americans of the Northwest Coast Area Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

Print Native Americans of the Northwest Coast Area Reading Comprehension

Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.39

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		halibut, Hand-split, non-Indians, potlatch, rediscovering, speechmaking, totem, woodworkers, warfare, status, highly, rectangular, expansion, temperate, deerskin, thereby
	content words:		Native Americans, Northwest Coast, Pacific Coast, First Salmon, Pacific Northwest, Northwest Coast Indians

---

Native Americans of the Northwest Coast Area By Jennifer Kenny

---

¹     Native Americans settled in the Northwest Coast area. That area ranged from south Alaska to northern California all along the Pacific Coast. The area is thickly wooded, has a temperate climate, and is known for its heavy rainfall. The forests are dark and damp. Springs and streams from mountain glaciers flow into the rivers that run to the ocean.
 
²     Native Americans lived in clans in the Northwest Coast area. Clans are groups of families claiming a common ancestor. The Native Americans built villages. A chief who was in charge of key ceremonies and rituals headed the clan. The chiefs were usually village nobles from families with high social status.
 
³     The social status was highly stratified. There were chiefs, nobles, commoners, and slaves. Slaves were war captives, people who had fallen in debt, and children of slaves.
 
⁴     Families in the Northwest Coast lived in plank houses. They were rectangular and were built large enough to fit an entire extended family. Each family had its own separate area within the house. The homes were often on beaches and faced the sea.
 
⁵     The plank houses were usually made from cedar. The cedar logs were used for framing. Hand-split planks made up the walls. Shed roofs kept out the rains. A fire pit was located in the center. There were platforms for sleeping and storage along the walls. The highest place of honor was the back wall. The fronts of the houses were painted.
 
⁶     Totem poles were sometimes attached to the plank houses. Other times the totem poles would be spaced around the village. The Native Americans there were master woodworkers. A totem pole recorded the family tree and, thereby, proclaimed social status. Every family had a relationship with a spirit. The spirit was represented in the form of an animal. That animal would be carved on the totem pole.
 
⁷     Raising a totem pole would always be accompanied by a potlatch. Potlatches also celebrated the marriage of a chief, the inauguration of a new clan house, or the death of an old chief. The potlatch ceremony was usually held in winter. It included feasts where the guests would eat, out of respect, until they were sick. There was speechmaking, storytelling, singing, drumming, and dancing.
 
⁸     For a potlatch, the chief would count his possessions. Messengers would make formal invitations. Those attending would send money and blankets to the chief. During the potlatch, the chief would give away nearly everything. Some families would save for years to give things away. This would increase their social rank. They hoped to get more gifts in return later on.
 
⁹     Another important ceremony was called First Salmon. It was a feast that lasted several days. Salmon was the staple food in this area. The people there honored the salmon run, the catch, and the feast. The people believed the salmon lived in great houses under the ocean where they lived like humans. However, because the salmon knew the humans on land needed food, they sacrificed themselves for those humans, and their spirits went back to live again in the ocean.

Paragraphs 10 to 20:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

Feedback on Native Americans of the Northwest Coast Area

Leave your feedback on Native Americans of the Northwest Coast Area   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

Native Americans

Native Americans

---

United States

United States

American Government         Black History and Blacks in U.S. History         Children in History         Government Careers         Hispanic Heritage         How Can I Help?

Immigration         National Parks and Monuments         Native Americans         Presidents of the United States         Women's History

---

United States History

A Nation Divided (1840-1861)         A New Nation (1776-1830)         After the Civil War (1865-1870)         American Revolution         Cold War (1947-1991)         Colonial America (1492-1776)         Lewis and Clark (1804-1806)         Pearl Harbor         Spanish American War (1898)         The 1890's         The 1900's         The 1910's         The 1920's         The 1930's

The 1940's         The 1950's         The 1960's         The 1970's         The 1980's         The 1990's         The 2000's         The Civil War (1861-1865)         The Great Depression (1929-1945)         The United States Grows (1865-1900)         The War of 1812         Wild, Wild West         World War I (1914-1918)         World War II

---

50 States

Fifty States Theme Unit

---

Document Based Activities

Document Based Activities

Copyright © 2025 edHelper