The "First Salmon" ceremony is a ritual practiced among the Tolowa, when the first new salmon of the year is caught and brought up for each one of the tribe members to have a small piece of. This is more ceremonial than to feed anyone, and it signified the right time to throw out last year's smoked salmon.

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In Life: Tolowa believe in "Mother Earth, Creation, and other spiritualistic stories. Several songs distinguish the Tolowa for having been passed down through the generations. Shamans were commonplace among the tribe, practicing medicine, with women traditionally filling the role of shaman. 

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Language: The language spoken among the tribe is English, but some continue to practice their traditional language of Tolowa, an endangered language. 

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Dances: Many dancing rituals are common among the Tolowa in the past, with generations adorned with tattoos, jewelry, and piercings worn during ceremonies and even feathers or headdresses at times.

 

Transportation: The tribe has a long history of being a seafaring people, digging out canoes to use for traveling waterways and fishing. These practice are still observed today, as some of the tribal lands are only accessible by boat and supplies are moved by river. 

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In Death: Tolowa revere the dead and feared them. Among their tribe is a taboo towards naming the dead, and if spoken of, the party whose family member was spoken of would claim grievance.