Life comes from the land and water

Here stood the Hanis Coos village of Qaimisiich. Along with their neighbors, the Miluk Coos, the Hanis Coos lived along Coos Bay, south to the Coquille River, and east to the Coast Range.

Very Resourceful
Experts in a sustainable life, the Coos people hunted, fished, and gathered here for many centuries. They traded with other tribes to obtain goods they could not find locally, such as schist for adze blades. Work was balanced with diversions such as foot races, canoe races, and dice games.

Woven Together
Baskets were important in Coos technology, woven of cedar bark and a variety of grasses, reeds, and roots. Pack baskets carried firewood and mussels; storage baskets held clothes or dried food. Tightly woven baskets were used to boil food and to carry water, while basket traps caught fish and crayfish.

The Coos people today strive to perpetuate their unique identity as Indians and as members of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.

Useful Materials
The Coos people gathered a huge variety of local materials for tools, transportation, and other needs.

red cedar: plank houses and canoes

ash and maple: canoe paddles

hazel: poles for poling canoes

sinew: sewing thread, fine cordage, and bow backing

obsidian and flint: arrowheads

red elderberry and ocean spray: arrow shafts and tips

mussel shells: spoons and knives

schist: adze blades

elk antlers: digging stick handles, wedges, and spoons

red cedar inner bark: baskets and clothing

maple bark: baskets and skirts

Douglas-fir: fish spear shafts

Caption 1:
A nauhin was used in a game called nauhina’nawos, similar to today’s field hockey

(This maker is in a wayside with the Hollering Place, Shifting Sands and Explore More markers)