The Kwakwakaʼwakw Haida Nation, and Chinook Indian Nation are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, inhabiting regions that extend from present-day British Columbia to Washington and Oregon. Their societies were traditionally organised around large extended kin groups and complex community structures that shaped both their social organisation and settlement patterns. Their dwellings were large communal wooden houses, often called plank houses or clan houses, which could accommodate several families belonging to the same lineage or clan. These structures were primarily built from wide planks of western red cedar, a tree abundant along the Northwest Coast and central to many aspects of material and ceremonial life. Plank houses appear in a range of variations, most commonly organised around a square or rectangular plan. Internally, they typically consist of a single large room with a shared hearth, although each family occupies its own subdivided area, marked off by mats or skins, and maintains its own cooking fire. Communal life remains central, with shared spaces used for collective activities such as meals and ceremonies.
Their construction begins with the clearing of the site and the digging of a shallow pit, followed by the erection of vertical posts. Large split cedar planks are then attached to form the walls, creating a robust wooden enclosure. Roofs usually include a smoke hole for ventilation and may be built with either a single- or double-pitched structure.
The spatial organisation of these houses was often structured through symmetrical or homothetic relationships between the central area and the lateral zones, reflecting both social hierarchy and ceremonial functions. The interiors of plank houses also functioned as ceremonial spaces for ritual dances and dramatic performances during midwinter ceremonies, as well as for gift-giving rituals known as potlatches, through which chiefs reinforced social status, political authority, and social relations.
Plank houses were primarily associated with permanent winter villages, while during the summer many Northwest Coast Indigenous peoples lived in either seasonal fixed dwellings or more portable shelters adapted to fishing, hunting, and gathering activities. These large communal structures were not merely domestic spaces: they also expressed the prestige of their owners, family histories, and relationships to supernatural ancestors. Their symbolic dimension was strongly manifested through carved and painted wooden façades, posts, and interior elements.
One of the oldest known plank-house village sites is located in Kitselas Canyon, at the Paul Mason Site in western British Columbia, Canada. Archaeological evidence suggests that the village dates back approximately 3,000 years.
Plank houses are still found in some communities today, where they are primarily used for ceremonial and communal activities.
Further reading:
“Indians of the Northwest.” The Museum Journal IV, no. 3 (September, 1913): 71-99. Accessed May 26, 2026. https://www.penn.museum/sites/journal/275/
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