Copper on the Northwest Coast: A Material Investigation of Cultural Entanglements Experienced During the Fur Trade and Colonial Periods

Here the processes and implications of cultural interactions occurring on the Northwest Coast of North America between the 18th and 20th centuries, ranging from brief entanglements to colonial settlement, are investigated. This is achieved by analysing assemblages of Indigenous artefacts created using copper throughout this period. These items were made and used across a period of upheaval and change punctuated by the arrival of European, Russian, and American interests, disease, the fur trade, and mounting colonial pressure. Copper is chosen as the vehicle to observe shifts in past choices as Indigenous oral histories, ethnographic records, and archaeological research show that copper was a culturally significant and powerful material within Indigenous ontologies. Its ownership could directly affect health, wealth, and social status. Through this time copper continued to be important to Indigenous lives, however the large amounts of manufactured trade metal introduced in the last 18th century changed the landscape of Indigenous copper metal procurement, value, and use forever. To investigate changes in Indigenous material choice, technological strategies, and artefact design, copper objects are analysed using a multifaceted biographical approach. A corpus of material, including daggers, bracelets, masks, beads, and the shield-shaped ‘Coppers’ are subject to a close physical inspection, documenting individual syntax of creation and use, or chaîne opératoire. Additionally, non-destructive chemical characterisation using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy facilitates interpretation of the material origins. This is possible because Indigenous metallurgists did not smelt or melt metal, and prior to the introduction of manufactured metals Indigenous resources were largely limited to geological sources of native copper, material from shipwrecks, or Indigenous trade. Here material culture is used to look beyond established histories, revealing nuanced decisions that have contributed to the formation of political power structures in place today. This research suggests that the Northwest Coast is connected by shared traditions and values spanning generations. Furthermore, a detectable patchwork of discrete personal interests and choices suggests that people were making decisions geared towards personal success. This thesis works to both acknowledge our colonised histories and argue for nuanced perspectives that contribute to the decolonisation of our past, present, and future.