A Yurok Village

Patrick's Point State Park has a reconstructed Yurok  Village.  The tribe uses it to teach both their own young people and the public about their traditions.

They had several dwellings and I found the construction to be very interesting.  They were built the traditional way, using planks from trees in the state parks that had fallen due to natural forces.  The round hole on the left side of the dwelling is the doorway.

It is hard to see from this shot but you enter onto a platform that runs around the edge of this sunken room.  The platform is used for storage and the people are below ground level.  

It seems a good way to avoid drafts in a cold and rainy climate.  In the center is a fire pit.

What about smoke?  Well they had a smoke hole, covered with planks to keep the rain out.

They had no nails so they lashed the buildings together using plant ties.  I found the construction to be very ingenious.

As with many cultures, the sweat lodge is important an important part of the culture.

The Yurok made dugout canoes and believed them to be living beings.

At the stern of the craft are two foot rests, these are the kidneys.  Towards the bow is a nob, this is the heart.

In front of the heart is carved a pair of lungs.

The canoes were used by both men and women.  They provided transportation on the rivers and larger ones were used to hunt in the ocean.

I find it interesting to see how people adapt their cultures to use what is at hand.  Plains Indians made homes from hides which were abundant.  In areas where birch was abundant that was used for making canoes and shelters.  Acorns are toxic but where they are abundant, native Americans learned to leach out the toxins.  Humans are amazingly resourceful.

See more of our amazing world at That's My World, Tuesday; hosted for us by Klaus, Sandy, Wren and Sylvia.