Quinault tribal members are among the few indigenous Americans who walk the beaches, navigate the waters, and hunt the land where their ancestors did. The Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) is comprised of the Quinault and Queets tribes along with descendants of nearby Washington coastal tribes; Quileute, Hoh, Chehalis, Chinook, and Cowlitz.
The area’s easy access to natural resources such as salmon, otters, clams, and other seafood plus forests full of elk, deer, and bear along with roots, mushrooms, berries and other vegetation provided sustenance and spiritual wealth to the tribe. Known for their use of the Western Red Cedar, referred to as the “tree of life,” the Quinault people built canoes and houses and used the bark for clothing. Thus, they are known as the canoe people of the cedar tree. QIN tribal members live along a significant physical and cultural dividing line that is flanked by expansive sandy beaches to the south and rugged, cliff-lined beaches to the north. Living in family groups, in long houses, along rivers that drain into the Pacific Ocean, they sustained their tribe by harvesting an abundance of local wildlife and through trading with neighboring tribes.
Our collection of Quinault artifacts includes traditional woven baskets and a diorama of life in a Quinault village along with pictures and stories that give an idea of the degree to which the QIN has lived symbiotically with their native lands for centuries.
