Chinook people traditionally lived in winter villages of plank houses, then moved around for the summer season. Plank houses were large enough for several families to live inside, as long as seventy feet by twenty-five feet. Smoke from a fire pit cured fish almost year round, then escaped through a hole in the roof overhead. Families gathered around the fire pit, and had their own living space behind partitions.

When fish runs began with the smelt, it was time to set up temporary summer camps along the river. Chinook people made housing from bark and mats to take down and carry to the next spot. Summer season is still marked by the First Salmon Ceremony, to honor the first fish caught for the season. The first fish is roasted, divided for everyone to taste, then its bones are returned to the river. “When that fish is released back to the river, it has the ability to go back out in the ocean and tell the other fish that we have treated it the way we were supposed to, and then the others will come in for us to harvest.” [Ray Gardner, Chair of the Chinook Tribal Council]