The Native Americans who seasonally used Dagger Falls hunted and gathered a wide range of foods and materials present in the natural environment. It is clear from the archaeology that people came to Dagger Falls from the Snake River Plain to the south and probably spent the summer harvesting the resources of the area. Although spearing sockeye salmon was probably the primary reason they camped on the terraces above the falls, they also hunted the big game in the region and gathered the numerous vegetable roots, tubers, greens and fruit. Large areas of charcoal and burned rock were uncovered at the site suggesting that excess salmon were dried and smoked for storage for use later in the year probably back on the Snake River Plain. The presence of pottery vessels may indicate that the fish oil extracted during the drying process may have been collected and stored, a very nutritious element of salmon that might otherwise be wasted.
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