The West Coast people, and the Makah living on Cape Alava on the Olympic
peninsula in Washington, actively hunted the gray whale. They were the only
people along the entire Northwest Coast to do so, and they sought success in
the hunt through months of rigorous ceremonial preparation.

Many legends and beliefs grew up around the great sea mammals. If a whale
were injured but not killed in the hunt, it would return at some other time and
capsize the whaler's canoe. A widespread belief held that a whale could capture
a canoe and drag it and all those aboard down to the underwater Village of the
Whales. Once there, the people would be transformed, and themselves become
whales. The Haida believed that whales appearing in front of a village were
drowned persons returning to communicate with the people.

The Tsimshian saw whales as being members of four clans, and represented
them differently in design. This concept may have originated with the recognition
of various whale species. The Eagle clan of the whales had a white stripe across
the middle of the dorsal fin, the Wolf clan carried a long dorsal fin like a wolfıs
tail, the Raven clan's fin resembled a raven's beak, and the Gispawadwe'da (no
translation) had a shorter fin with a hole in the centre.

The Haida have a legend of Raven-finned Killer Whale, a whale chief who carries
a raven perched on top of his tall dorsal fin, and there are legends of two-, three-
and even five-finned killer whales. These legends could have originated from the
sight of a cluster of dorsal fins where whales surfaced together, as often happens.

Whales are prolific in the art of the Northwest Coast peoples and are a frequent
motif with print makers. The distinguishing features are clearly defined, and two or
more are always present no matter how minimal the portrayal. They are: a round
snouted head with large mouth and many teeth, a blow hole, a dorsal fin, a pectoral
fin, and a tail with symmetrical flukes-although in profile the latter can appear
asymmetrical.