(m0-maps-northern-wa-west) WA Northern Tier Route: Western Section
The Quiluete are a Native American people who are descendants of the
Sons of Hadoram, particularly the son who was named Salish.
These native people currently live in the northwestern area of the state of Washington in the southwestern corner of Clallam County at the mouth of the Quillayuete River where it flows into Pacific Ocean waters. The main population center of the Quiluete is the community of La Push, Washington. The Quileute language is Nuu-chah-nulghi (which belongs to the Chimakuan family of languages of which most are now extinct and whom all lived in the Pacific Northwest Coastal areas.)
Like many Northwest Coast nations, in the times before the Europeans arrived, the Quileute relied on fishing from local rivers and the Pacific Ocean for food. They built plank houses (commonly called longhouses) to protect themselves from the harsh, wet winters west of the Cascade Mountains.
The Quileutes used the resources from the land to make tools and other items. In the region, almost everything was made out of wood. Necessities like utensils, clothing, weapons, and paints were made from the available natural resources. They would use cedar bark to made waterproof skirts and hats to shield their bodies against the region′s heavy rainfall.
In terms of arts and crafts, the Quileute Tribe is best known for their woven baskets and dog-hair blankets. The tribe would raise specially bred, woolly dogs for their hair, which they would spin and weave into blankets. They would also weave incredibly fine baskets that were so tightly woven that they could hold water and some of which they could boil water in.
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