Gathering Plants

Just as diamonds and oil are major raw materials for us now a days, plants were a major one for First Nations back in the day. Not only were they a great source of nutrient and fiber when eaten, First Nations also used them for medicine, tools and dyes.

Many groups across British Columbia celebrated a "First Fruit Ceremony", welcoming and thanking the first berry of the year. Harvesting plants usually involved a spiritual element, like these first fruit ceremonies. First Nations only took what they needed from nature and were very in tune with it, so being grateful and thanking nature for their food was naturally very important to them.

Regions such as the Coast, had a wide variety of berries and plants. These included the  huckleberry, salal, and salmonberry. They also used licorice fern for medical purposes, to soothe coughs, and devil's club to cleanse and purify the body and soul.

In addition to berries, other plants were very important aswell. Trade items for example included bitter-root, camas bulbs, Indian hemp fiber, dried berries and a form of tobacco. They also used mushrooms, tree lichen, the inner bark of trees and nuts.

Hunting

Hunting was one of the main food resources for natives. Different regions had different animals to hunt, but no matter the animal, hunters had to have highly developed tracking skills and understand the animals behavior.

Moose, caribou and deer were the primary sources for meat for many interior people. The northeast and Northern Interiors had the greatest density of moose in the world.

Deer were the major animal resource used by the people of the Southern Interior

Though coastal peoples major food resources came from the water, their most common animals to hunt were the black bears and black - tailed deer.

Individuals hunted mainly with bows and arrows, but more often, people worked together to hunt whole herds of caribou or deer

Transportation

The main method of transportation throughout the Interior was walking before Europeans introduced Horses. They would have well developed trails throughout the land.

Bridges were also developed and build over deep river canyons, using simple log structures.

During the winter, people used snowshoes to travel between villages. This would be a lot faster than walking without them, since they would not sink into the deep snow.

On the coast, people mainly used to canoes as a method of transportation. These would be made of cedar, or if that wasn't available at the time, birch or spruce. Canoes were up to 18 feet long, and could travel long distances in stormy seas. They could carry large cargo or hold as many as 20 passengers

Creating Shelter

Tipis were the optimal summer shelter for many groups. Preferred by the Northeast people, and also used in the Prairies, these were perfect to travel to different resource destinations due to them being portable and light.

The pit house, a unique winter home developed by the people of the southern interior was farely popular as well. The earth would act as insulation, keeping them warm in the winter, and cold in the summer. Up to 30 people would live in these pits.

The Coastal People, having more resources available than other Nations may have, constructed a different type of Shelter. The longhouses, made from the readily available cedar trees were an important cultural entity. They suited their climate and social organizations