Each of these categories of knowledge has implications that extend beyond Ozette to the broader understanding of Northwest Coast pre-contact life.

The site is not just a local or tribal curiosity.

It is a window of general significance for understanding the character of Northwest Coast societies in the centuries before European contact.

The Mud That Changed Everything

A mudslide is not usually remembered as a gift.

The people who were in the longhouses when the slide occurred, if any were present, experienced a catastrophe.

The community that survived experienced the loss of houses, possessions, and perhaps lives.