Bent wood

A Northwest native classic, the bentwood box. In which a single plank of cedar is kerfed and steamed, then bent to form the walls of a box. Decorated with carvings and colored designs, inlaid with bits of shell and flakes of metal, the boxes are valued posessions, often used to store items of wealth and ceremonial importance.
It is technology of the highest order, this ability to shift the shape of solid wood in directions it does not naturally go. Hi-tech, from back in the day.