Makah Cultural & Research Center

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The Makah Cultural & Research Center preserves, interprets, and promotes the culture, language, and heritage of the Makah Indian Nation. To achieve these ends the Center conducts research, provides guidance to various organizations in archaeological, linguistic, and cultural management, and operates the Makah Museum (which is located inside; see below). The Center also houses a library archives and the tribal historic preservation office, and offers various educational and Makah language programs. The museum is open each day of the week from 10-5pm.

Images

The Makah Cultural and Research Center was established after the discovery of the Ozette Archaeological Site. It preserves and promotes the cultural history of the Makah Indian Nation.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Makah Museum

The museum houses artifacts from the Ozette Archaeological Site, a historic 300-500 year-old Makah village located along the coast near the north end of Ozette Lake. Many of the artifacts found at the site are on display in the museum's permanent exhibits such as baskets and whaling and fishing gear. Replicas of a long house and full-sized canoes are on display as well. There are also temporary exhibits and an ethnobotanical garden featuring native plants. In addition, the museum offers guided tours, demonstrations of basketry and carving, lectures on various Makah-related topics, and workshops.

Ozette Archaeological Site

The Ozette Archaeological Site was discovered by a hiker in early 1970. A strong storm had recently eroded a large part of the site, revealing hundreds of well-preserved wooden artifacts. The site itself was covered in a mudslide around 500 years ago, which coincides with Makah oral tradition of a "great mudslide." The artifacts found were the remains of six longhouses and the items inside them. Excavations continued for eleven years. More than 55,000 artifacts were discovered and all are stored in the Center, which was established to interpret and preserve these artifacts.

Sources

"About the Makah Cultural and Research Center." Makah Cultural and Research Center. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://makahmuseum.com/about.

"Ozette Archaeological Site." Makah Cultural and Research Center. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://makahmuseum.com/about/ozette-archaeological-site.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

All images retrieved from the Makah Cultural and Research Center