The Coos People

The Coos People Life Comes from the Land and Water Here stood the Hanis Coos village of Qaimisiich. Hanis Coos, and their Miluk Coos neighbors to the south, lived along Coos Bay, south to the Coquille River, and east to the Coast Range. Very Resourceful Experts in a sustainable life, the Coos people hunted, fished, and gathered here for many centuries. They traded with other tribes to obtain goods they could not find locally, such as schist for adze blades. Work was balanced with diversions such as foot races, canoe races, and dice games. Woven Together Baskets were important in Coos technology, woven of cedar bark and a variety of grasses, reeds, and roots. Pack baskets carried firewood and mussels; storage baskets held clothes or died food. Tightly woven baskets were used to boil food and to carry water, while basket traps caught fish and crayfish. The Coos people today strive to perpetuated their unique identity as Indians and as members of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.