Religion
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The people of the Plateau believed that there were spirits in all living and non-living things. They also believed some spirits were good and some were bad, but they were everywhere. They had a strong spiritual relationship with nature, the most important animals were deer, coyotes and horses. The Plateau culture had leaders called Shamans. Shamans were said to have special healing abilities, have control over hunting and could predict the future. Shamans also could communicate with the spirit world. The Plateau people had many myths that's were passed on through generation to generation, many involved a creature known as Coyote. It was believed Coyote was responsible for bringing salmon up the river every spring and transformed people into their present form. During adolescence in the Plateau culture, all people went alone on a spiritual vigil. During these vigils, they often prayed in hopes that a guardian would appear to them in a vision.
Ceromonies
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the people of the plateau had ceremonies all around the year. Their most anticipated one was the arrival of spring. The celebrations at the start of the spring were to mark the first salmon run or the appearance of the berries.
The ceremonies involved a lot of dancing and music, which were both used to summon up religiously. There was mainly singing with the involvement of other instruments. Many other things were bird-bone flutes, rattles from deer hooves, stick striking bards, and hide covered wooden drums.
The ceremonies involved a lot of dancing and music, which were both used to summon up religiously. There was mainly singing with the involvement of other instruments. Many other things were bird-bone flutes, rattles from deer hooves, stick striking bards, and hide covered wooden drums.
· The Winter Guardian Spirit DanceThe winter guarding spirit dance was meeting at which participants personified their guardian spirit. The dance involved several days of dancing and healing the sick. It was a way to show people how they could communicate with the spirit world.
The Sun Dance
It involved singing and dancing, fasting and spiritual visions.
The Sun Dance
It involved singing and dancing, fasting and spiritual visions.
Art
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The Plateau people's art was meant for both the spiritual and every day. Many rock paintings or pictographs, were found in Plateau ruins in the southern interior of British Columbia. The paint they used was made out of red ocher pigments mixed with animal oil or fish eggs. The paintings found were often of human or animal spiritual figures. Weaving was fairly popular in the Plateau culture. Women we very skilled weavers, they wove blankets, baskets and mats are some of the many. Blankets were brightly colored. The Plateau people used dads to decorate their weapons and clothing. Their clothing often had been decorated in paint, blue squares represented a lake and red lines represented the Earth.