This section explores the first interactions between Euro-Americans and Native Americans. Walk through
scenes depicting Lewis and Clark's expedition, David Thompson charting the Columbia River, the trade store at
Fort Vancouver, and a scene from the Walla Walla Council. The nearby Southern Coast Salish plank house offers
another view of traditional lifeways.
Click any picture to view a larger image.
"We were visited this morning by several canoes of Indians, who joined those who were
already with us, and soon opened a numerous council."
After leaving the Walula village, Lewis and Clark traveled down the Columbia, passing the rich Indian fishing grounds and gathering places at the falls and rapids where the river cut through the Cascade Mountains.
Even before Lewis and Clark made their famous expedition into the Northwest, the northwestern Native Americans had been carrying on trade with the seagoing British and Americans. Explorers Captains James Cook, George Vancouver, and Robert Gray had initiated contact with the local populations in the late 1700s. David Thompson located the source of the Columbia in 1807, and fur traders of the Hudson's Bay Company tried to establish British claims to the territory. In spite of the European influence, however, Washington was declared a Territory of the United States in 1853.
Contemporary Native American artists describe the devastating effects contact with non-Indians had on their population. Ravaged by smallpox, influenza, and measles in the past, Native Americans are now plagued with problems such as alcoholism and suicide stemming from the loss of their lands and cultural heritage. In spite of their losses, the indigenous peoples of Washington continue to assert their rights and maintain their traditions.
Listen to a Puyallup basketmaker teaching her grandaughter how to weave a clam basket in the age-old design of her ancestors. Hear the words of a fisherman as he mends his net and speaks of how his people revere the spirit of the salmon and prepare the river for the salmon run each year. Experience daily life as it unfolded for some of the original inhabitants of western Washington.