What Type of Clothing Did the Makah Indians Wear?

Are you interested in the culture and history of the Native Americans? The Makah Indians are a Native American tribe from the northwest area of Washington State. Originally, the tribe was from the warm climate of the Pacific Northwest Coast. This tribe has an interesting history and culture.

Historically, the Makah men frequently didn’t wear any clothes. They were in a warm climate, and thus clothing was not a necessity. Occasionally, the men wore breechcloths. The Makah women wore short skirts. These skirts were usually created from cedar bark, or they were created out of grass.

When the weather did become colder, the Makah people would wear tunics, or fur cloaks. If the weather was extremely rainy, the tribe frequently wore tule rush capes. On their feet, the Makah people wore moccasins.

For ceremonies, the people frequently wore a basketry hat that was created out of spruce root. The spruce root was woven together to create a beautiful hat.

Women frequently wore their hair in long braids, while the men usually wore their hair up in a braided bun. It was not unusual to see Makah men with facial hair, such as mustaches or beards.

Makah Indian Housing

The Makah tribe lived in cedar plank houses. These houses were rectangular in shape, and they had an extremely flat roof. The houses were usually almost sixty feet long, with plenty of space for many generations of a Makah family.

Language of the Makah Tribe

Prior to contact with the Europeans, the Makah tribe spoke the Makah language. The language was extremely complicated, and consisted of a number of long words and long phonetic sounds that simply don’t exist in English.

The language was similar to the Nuu-chah-nulth and the Ditidaht. These languages were languages of the First Nations, in the province of British Columbia in Canada. Today, the language is extinct because the last native speaker of the language died. However, the branches of the Makah tribe are attempting to relearn and bring back the language.

Life of Makah Tribe Children

The life of children in the Makah tribe largely consisted of assisting around the house, and helping the family. This might mean assisting their father with a hunt, or helping him as he fished. The Makah children also attended school.

The children had time for recreation as well. The women in the Makah culture would often construct dolls for the children to play with, as well as other toys. The Makah children would also play games with each other, if there weren’t chores around the house to be done.

What Does the Word “Makah”  Mean

The name “Makah” translates to “generous ones.” This was actually the name for the tribe from a neighboring tribe. It is not how the Makah tribe refers to themselves.

The Makah tribe refers to themselves as “Kwih-dich-chuh-ahtx.” This translates to “the people who live by the rocks and seagulls.”

Travel of the Makah People

The Makah people used canoes to travel, as well as for hunting, fishing, trading, and they were even used in warfare. These canoes were sometimes as long as thirty feet in length.

The tribe carved out cedar logs and created canoes. After the tribes carved out the cedar logs, they would steam them by pouring water in the hollowed out canoes, and then adding heated rocks.

This caused the hollowed out log to soften, and the tribe could somewhat mold the sides up. However, this process ensured that the bottom of the canoe remained strong and durable.