did the coastal Native Americans in North America eat SEAL meat? (Washington, peoples)

[green papaya]

I know the Inuit / Alaska type natives ate lots of SEAL meat / blubber, etc

but what about the Natives along the California / Washington / Oregon coast?

like the MIWOK? or other native tribes along the coast? I have seen large numbers of Seals / Sea lions along the CA coast, so I would guess the natives would have took some for food.

[green papaya]

just found out they did eat Seal meat

FOOD

The most important food for the Chumash was the acorn, which they gathered from the live oak trees. Those who lived along the coast also depended on sea food. They ate many ocean fish (shark, sea bass, halibut, bonito) as well as mussels, barnacles, and clams. Abalone was a main food on the islands.



Hunting was done on both sea and land. Seals, sea otters, and porpoises were taken with harpoons from canoes, but whales were eaten only when they were washed ashore. Deer, coyote, fox, rabbits, ducks and geese added to the food supply.


The amole, or soap plant, was a favorite of the Chumash. The bulb was eaten, after being roasted. The plant also furnished soap for washing, and husks for making brushes. Other plant foods gathered were pine nuts, wild cherries, cattails, berries, mushrooms, and many types of seeds.

California Indians

[green papaya]

judging by this chart of the known Indian tribes in CA, there were very few survuiving members by the 1910 census? some appear to be wiped out by the turn of the century, very low numbers.

California Indians

[Cryptic]

Originally Posted by green papaya

judging by this chart of the known Indian tribes in CA, there were very few survuiving members by the 1910 census? some appear to be wiped out by the turn of the century, very low numbers.

Some were wiped out, but the low numbers by 1910 also reflect that a lot of California Indians had been absorbed by Hispanic, and later Anglo society to the point where they no longer identified as Indians by 1910.

[TheWiseWino]

If you were including Alaskan native people as North Americans then the answer was and is yes.

Alaska's Seal Hunt Lasted Only a Few Days Because It's So Hot

It is hard to imagine that the native peoples of what is now Washington, Oregon and California didn't as well considering the abundance and rich nutritional value that seals can provide.