Indigenous Peoples of Washington State
For millennia, Native peoples have stewarded the lands of the Pacific Northwest—from shrubsteppe to desert to mountain to the Salish Sea—and nurtured rich, vital cultures that, despite colonization, thrive today.
Theirs is an immensely long, complex, and rich history. The vast network of waterways lacing across the region’s lands made for excellent transportation across long distances, and helped shape the Native people of the region into a diverse and formidable group of Nations—from the Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth) Tribe, said to have made the largest canoes, to the Yakama, said to have the best salmon from the now-flooded Celilo Falls.
Washington state is one of the most diverse Native regions in the U.S. Thirty-four unique tribes continue to exist here, each with distinct languages, cultures, traditions, and realities. Today, more than 60,000 Native Americans from across the U.S. live within Seattle and King County, many of whom made their way when the Indian Relocation Act of the 1950s forced Native people out of their homelands and into cities.
While you’re here, take time to learn about the Indigenous peoples who continue to shape the state of Washington culturally and economically. Did you know that Washington state tribes can be credited as the seventh largest employers in the state, creating over 54,000 jobs?
You are a visitor. Discover whose land you are on.
Visit the Native Land app to discover which Native Nations and tribes called the land on which you are visiting home, for thousands of years prior.
Visit this gateway to Washington’s tribes to learn about tribal histories, governments, and cultures.
Have time to connect? Consider checking out one of these organizations.
Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center
Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center
A long-standing institution in the Indigenous community, Daybreak Star is located in Discovery Park of the Magnolia neighborhood in Seattle. The beloved cultural center features rotating exhibits in its Sacred Circle Gallery and provides social services to Seattle's Urban Indian population.
Duwamish Longhosue
The longhouse was constructed with the mission of preserving the culture and economic well being of the Duwamish Tribe, the first people of Seattle. Featuring a ceremonial space, cultural resource center and commercial kitchen, the Duwamish Longhouse, located across from the Duwamish River, is a place of learning and celebration.
Guests from the Great River
The Burke Museum is located on the University of Washington campus in Seattle. Dedicated to highlighting the region’s natural and cultural history, it contains a Northwest Native art gallery with rotating exhibitions from Native artists and permanent displays that include a 35-foot canoe, totem poles, and house posts. The gallery was curated in collaboration with the region’s tribal communities.
Looking to contribute? These are a few leading Native organizations in our area.
Chief Seattle Club is dedicated to physically and spiritually supporting American Indian and Alaska Native peoples through food, health care, housing, and other services and programs. The new affordable housing development ʔálʔal is a landmark project located across from the Pioneer Square Link Light Rail Station, featuring nine floors of housing, health care, and social services for Natives in need of stability and community.
Mother Nation offers cultural services, advocacy, mentorship, and homeless prevention services to celebrate and inspire the success of Native American women in Washington state.
Red Eagle Soaring has been cultivating the voices and talent of Native youth for nearly 30 years through traditional and contemporary performing arts.
SIHB is a recognized leader in the health promotion and care of urban American Indians and Alaska Natives. Since the 1970s, SIHB has made sure the health and well-being needs of urban Indians do not go overlooked, and that services are rooted in Indigenous knowledge. A new clinic in Chief Seattle Club’s landmark development ʔálʔal combines primary care, health services, and housing in one location.
The Yarrow Project Encircles Indigenous survivors of violence by engaging community, connecting to culture, and dismantling systems of harm.
UIAT has provided culturally responsive services and programming to Seattle and King County’s urban Native community since the 1970s. UIAT was led by the late Bernie Whitebear, who was born and raised on the Colville Reservation in rural Eastern Washington, and who fought for urban Indian rights and justice in Seattle. He occupied Fort Lawton to reclaim a land base for Native Americans living in and around Seattle.
UIHI is a prominent Native-led research organization creating decolonized resources for organizations serving or impacting urban Indians to inform culturally grounded health services, programs, and policies. Led by Abigail Echohawk of the Pawnee Nation, and housed within the Seattle Indian Health Board, UIHI has driven efforts to increase visibility of and develop resources addressing violence against Native women.
This resource was created by Pyramid Communications.
