The Alsea people would fish for salmon and steelhead. After they caught the fish they would gut it and cook it. The Indians would cook the fish by cutting it down the back. Then they would lay it fiat across a few sticks. They would lay longer sticks on top of the fish and tie them to the cross pieces. After all this they would tie this newly made fish rack to a long wooden pole which was stuck into the ground on an angle. A line of these fish racks would slant over a trench of fire. The poles could be turned to cook the fish on both sides.

Salmon were cooked on fish racks placed at an angle over a trench of fire.
--drawing by Brian Ward

...they would tie this newly made fish rack to a long wooden pole which was stuck into the ground on an angle. A line of these fish racks would slant over a trench of fire.

Berries were said to have come from the Island of Death. The first of any kind of berry to be found were taken to the Shaman who would make them safe for the tribe members to eat. Berries were often boiled before being eaten. Mgtsunxuttanxc was the word for crushed nuts or berries that the
Alsea Indians would apply to a painful wound.
Alsea people would make wine, qwci/tc, out of salmon berries and black berries. They would take a small basket and stuff it with berries until all the juice was squeezed out of them. The Indians left the juiceless berries in the basket for a few days or until they were completely dried out. Then they would take the seeds and plant them so there would be more berries for the next year.
During spring, right before the leaves of the skunk cabbage would come up and bless the world with it's pretty green, the Alsea Indians would dig up its roots and cook it an earth oven. It is said to taste just like cabbage after it has been cooked.
Nuts were important to the Alseas winter life, and deer and elk because the meat was easily smoked and dried. This made what is now
called Jerky.
Some other kinds of meat they had included seals, sealions and whales. The Indians took the oil they rendered from the fat of these animals and stored it in a sealion bladder.
The Alsea used tools such as Tenilio, a wooden club used to kill the fish they caught by hitting over the head.
They ate out of bowls made only by the men of the tribe. They were made from maple and were called Lieqwaiusts.
Alsea Indians were thought to be uncivilized. On the contrary they were very civil and even used spoons called Meixat. These spoons were made from elk antlers. Clamshell cups were also commonly used.
      --Marshall Wray