From the northernmost point of Washington to the state’s sprawling plateaus, Indians are reviving ancient culture and giving voice to languages once thought extinct. Leadership on the reservations and the rising tide of the American Indian Movement united tribes. New gaming laws brought in substantial money. Court victories, like the treaty fishing rights win in 1974, leveled the playing field between the state and Indian tribes in the management of natural resources. The culmination overshadows the stubborn poverty, disease and alcoholism that still persist.

Cultural centers and tribal schools have opened across the state, teaching Native languages, intricate art practices of their ancestors and methods for growing traditional gardens. First-salmon ceremonies take place for the first time in decades. In 1989, to honor the Centennial Accord, the tribes revived their canoe culture. What began as the Paddle to Seattle that year has grown dramatically. More than 100 canoes take to the water each year including Native people from as far away as Alaska.