Western red cedar canoes were often found in the Alsea Indians' villages.
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To the Alsea Indians the Alsea River was their way of life. When they needed to travel they turned toward the cedar canoe to get them where they needed to go. The...basic canoe was a two person canoe, made of a carved out western red cedar log.The Alsea Indians basic canoe was a two person canoe, made of a carved out western red cedar log. This canoe had several purposes but the biggest was probably the role it played in quick transportation to a nearby village. Two men could paddle a canoe of |
this size to a nearby village and back in about a day if they stopped to trade for goods or just to eat some of the plentiful tubers and camas bulbs that grew in the Alsea Valley. This was the simplest of the the canoes that the Alsea Indians made, but wasn't the most famous. The most famous canoe that the Alsea made was the ten person fishing canoe. This canoe was also made of cedar. It could hold about 10 people and all of the fish that they needed to bring back to the village. When they fished they would use a method similar to the trolling that takes place today. They would drag a net between two canoes and then pull it up and The most famous canoe that the Alsea made was the |
remove the fish. They also made canoes that were almost sixty feet long and they used They would drag a net between two canoes and then pull it up and remove the fish.them to go on the ocean. They used these canoes, also made of cedar, to trade with the Chinook Indians that lived on the Columbia River. They would trade these great canoes for iron knives and pieces of metal used to make various tools. They also traded for dentailia shell that signified wealth in the tribe. |