Introduction

Abstract

The purpose of this book is to describe and analyze the practice and institution of slavery among the aboriginal inhabitants of the Northwest Coast of North America. The book describes Northwest Coast societies and culture, and investigates how those who controlled access to resources utilized the labor of slaves in the process of food production. It provides the cultural and social background to the practice of slavery and reviews the evidence for the antiquity of slavery in the culture area, also discussing the distinction between the status of slaves on the Northwest Coast and the status of captives in most of the rest of aboriginal North America.