British Columbia's Northwest Coast First Nations people designed and utilized an abundance of natural resources as part of their daily lives.  Raw materials such as wood and plant materials were used in making tools, containers, shelters, fishing implements, and canoes.  Food came from local forests, rivers and the sea.  This article describes some of the unique fishing tools and implements used, for example, for halibut and eulachon fishing and processing.  These artifacts are preserved in the Ethnology collection here at the Museum.  The technology used has evolved over thousands of years, and in some cases, is still used by First Nations peoples today.

Photograph:  Pressing eulachon fish for oil, Nass River, 1884.  By Richard Maynard, RBCM PN 1448

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