Makah History

This lesson falls under our homeschool curriculum on Native American History. We recommend that this lesson be taught after the lesson on Nez Perce Native Americans.

1. Internet Access – Pull up the following:

1. United States Map of Native American Populations by Geographic Region

2. Picture of cedar plank house

3. Picture of basket hat

1. Teacher: Last lesson we learned about the Nez Perce Native Americans and we are almost done now learning about the Native Americans. Today, we are going to learn about the Makah Native Americans, who lived in the Northwest Coast area, which is mainly in the State of Washington [point to the State of Washington on the map].

2. Teacher: Now you’re going to find that the Makah were pretty different from all the other Native American people we learned about so far and again, it is all because of where they lived in the country.

3. Teacher: OK – so are you ready to learn about the Makah? [Get Student’s positive response and begin lesson].

1. Teacher: Makah is pronounced “muh-kaw” which was a name given by their neighboring Native American tribes and means “generous ones". Can you say, “Makah”? [Have the Student practice several times].

2. Teacher: Good. Now, the Makah lived in the upper left corner of the United States called the Northwest Coast. This area is right next to the Pacific Ocean and this area is also known to rain a lot, so there are plenty of trees and forests here.

3. Teacher: Now, before I go any further, if you lived right next to the ocean and also lived in a forest, how would you think you would find your food? [Engage the Student in conversation].

4. Teacher: The Makah ate things that grew in the forest like berries and also animals that lived in the forest like deer. But because the ocean was right there, the Makah mostly hunted from the water. For example, they hunted seals and sea lions. The Makah women would gather shellfish. But most spectacular of all, the Makah would also go hunting for whales!

5. Teacher: For homes, the Makah made houses out of wood from cedar trees, called cedar plank houses. Here’re some pictures of cedar plank houses. [Show picture of cedar plank houses to Student].

6. Teacher: Now, these cedar plank houses are hard to build so the Makah were not nomads and they didn’t need to be. Why do you think the Makah didn’t need to be nomads? [Engage the Student in conversation but come to the point that they didn’t need to be nomads since their source of food always remained in one place].

7. Teacher: And so, the cedar plank houses were really not meant to be torn apart. In fact, these houses were really good for the Makah since it keep them warm from the cold ocean weather. These houses were built on the ocean coast and formed villages.

8. Teacher: As for clothing, the men in the summer usually didn’t wear any. The women wore short skirts made of grass. When it got cold, the Makah wore fur cloaks. Also, both men and women wore basket hats. Here’s a picture of a basket hat. [Show Student picture of a basket hat].

9. Teacher: And the weapons of the Makah used were similar to the other Native Americans, bow and arrows and spears. But for hunting whales, they used harpoons, which were long spears with mussel shells as sharp tips. They also used elk skin (elk looks like a very big deer, in fact, it is the biggest of the deer family) as armor for when they fought with other Native Americans.

10. Teacher: As for the men and women, the men were in charge of hunting, trading and war while the women were in charge of the family and the house.

11. Teacher: Well, like the other Native Americans, the Makah were gathered up by the Europeans and sent to a reservation while the Americans took over their lands.

12. Teacher: OK – time for review. Get in front of the class. [Have the Student stand in front of you (consider inviting other members of the family also to set the stage) and ask her the following:

1. How did the Makah get most of their food? They fished

2. What kind of homes did the Makah live in? They lived in cedar plank houses.

3. Do you think the Makah were nomads? Why or why not? The Makah were not nomads since they did not have to move around to find their food.

Next Week's Lesson: Wiyot Native Americans >>