- In the early 19th century, the livelihood of the Kwakiutl Indians was based on fishing from their canoes using different kinds of traps, harpoons and nets for salmon, herring, eulachon and halibut. The Kwakiutl also hunted for sea mammals such as seal and porpoise using harpoons, clubs and stakes, and they gathered marine invertebrates such as shellfish with yew digging and prying sticks. Bartering for food staples and goods was also an important commercial activity. Late in the 19th century, Kwakiutl became cannery workers, loggers and commercial fishermen who worked in different kinds of fish-catching fleets.
- The Kwakiutl traded goods with other tribes for specific items such as dried halibut, herring roe and eulachon oil, which was especially traded with the Nootka Indians, who lived along the coast of Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. In the early 19th century the fur trade was booming, and in the 1830s the Kwakiutl began acting as middlemen in the fur trade. The early fur trade was made possible through contact at the north end of Vancouver Island and through exchanges with the Nootka.
- Textile arts, woodcarving, painting, storytelling, ceremonies, dance and theatrical performances were all a part of Kwakiutl art and culture. The theme of their artwork was primarily religious, and images in their art represented animals and supernatural beings. Textile arts included the making of baskets, mats and blankets. Some of the things they carved were wooden masks, totems, utensils and watercraft. Almost all of their possessions, from their homes, canoes, paddles, household utensils and tools, were richly decorated. Storytelling is important to the Kwakiutl Indian culture, of which one story is about the legend of the origin of totem poles. During potlatching, a ceremonial feast of northwest tribes still practiced today, the Kwakiutl give formal speeches and gifts to guests. Their dance and theatrical performances are dramatizations of mythical events. Presently, the tribe creates small carved items, paintings and prints, and at least one Kwakiutl dance troupe participates in traditional costumed performances.
- Kwakiutl men were fishermen and hunters who built traps, built their own homes and made their own hunting and fishing equipment, including their canoes. Men also made other things such as masks, boxes and totem poles. Today, many men are employed as commercial fishermen. Kwakiutl women gathered shellfish, plants, herbs, seaweed, berries and roots. They were responsible for most of the child care and cooking, processed all kinds of food and prepared meals. The women weaved baskets and mats and made nets and clothing for the family. Women worked in the canneries in the early decades of the commercial fishery. Because fish-processing plants have moved to urban locations, Kwakiutl women work today mainly in the service industry and in government.
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