Fibers, Textiles and Building Materials

Baskets were important for carrying and processing foods. Some baskets were so tightly woven that water could held and boiled in them. Commonly, baskets were woven from the roots of Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). The large basket shown to the left is called a burden basket, and was used to carry large quantities of food or firewood. The outside of the basket is decorated using a technique called imbrication which hides the underlying material that gives the basket its' shape and strength. Prunus emarginata was used in imbrication for a reddish color, and other materials were often dyed to obtain a variety of colors to use in the design. Next to the smaller basket is a sample of bitterroot that has been processed: the roots were scraped of the outer skin (the really bitter part of the plant), then the roots were split and dried. Roots can be stored in this dry state for a very long time, and reconstitued with water when needed.

Birch bark (Betula spp.) was used to sew baskets, and was also used for temporary containers and canoe bailers.

Rope and twine of various sorts were important for many uses including fishing nets. Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum) was used extensively for cordage, as was a variety of willow species (Salix spp.) and sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Engelmann's Spruce (Picea engelmannii) roots and bark were also shredded and used for twine and rope.

Remains of a pit house today along the Columbia River. The greener circle is the dug out pit that the house was built on. Having a semi-subterranean house meant that it was cooler during the summer and warmer during the winter. Pit houses were built in more permanent villages near the Columbia River, mainly used during the winter. During the summer more temporary accommodations were made while traveling to gather resources. Archeologists have discovered that almost every cave or overhanging rock along the Columbia has been used by Native Americans, and even the smallest of caves appears to have been shelter for at least a few people in the past. Some caves are rather pleasant though, in the Tumwater Canyon near Leavenworth there are large rock shelters which would have afforded comfortable and dry living quarters without the need for carrying around or finding tule mats and wood for a shelter.