Category: Preserving Culture

Summer Travel with a Tribal Focus

Posted on June 3, 2025 by - Preserving Culture

Summer travel season is almost here! Whether you’re planning a day trip or a week-long adventure, tribes across the state have incredible experiences to offer. Here are just a few of the many outstanding tribal tourist destinations in Washington state:

Lummi Stommish Water Festival
Kick off your summer with the Lummi Stommish Water Festival, an annual festival honoring military veterans (Stommish is the Halkomelem word for ‘warrior’). Hosted by the Lummi Nation each June, this four-day event features canoe races, a carnival, 3-on-3 basketball, a Sla-Hal stick game tournament, and more. Stay overnight at the Silver Reef Hotel, Casino & Spa or pull up to camp at the Stommish Grounds.

Makah Days
Journey out to Neah Bay in August for Makah Days, the Makah Tribe’s annual celebration of thousands of years of Makah culture. The three-day festival includes events for all ages and interests, from fireworks, traditional dancing and salmon bakes to the Bahokus Peak Challenge—a 3-mile uphill race with an elevation gain of nearly 1,400 feet.

Can’t make it in August? The Makah Museum is open 7 days a week and is full of artifacts and exhibits about the rich maritime heritage of the Makah people; or take the Cape Flattery Trail to visit the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States. You’ll find spectacular views and a chance to spot gray whales.

Makah Tribal Marina

Outdoor Concerts at Northern Quest Resort & Casino
The Kalispel Tribe of Indians’ Northern Quest Casino is home to Spokane’s premier outdoor concert venue and one of the hottest music lineups in Eastern Washington! From Donny Osmond to The Smashing Pumpkins, you won’t go wrong adding a Northern Quest concert to your summer plans. While you’re there, take some “me” time at La Rive Spa or play a round at the Kalispel Golf and Country Club.

Preserving Culture Through Tribal Language Programs

Posted on May 22, 2025 by - INTERNAL - Carousel, Preserving Culture

Native American culture has flourished in Washington state for thousands of years. Tribes in Washington are working to ensure native culture continues to be an integral part of our regional identity. One way Tribes are accomplishing this is through tribal language programs. Language is at the heart of tribal identity. It is the foundation of religious and ceremonial practices and cultural heritage, and it’s an irreplaceable part of Tribes’ self-preservation, self-determination, and sovereignty.

Here are a few of the many programs across the state that are preserving and revitalizing tribal languages and dialects:

Puyallup Tribal Language Program
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians’ Tribal Language Program was created to revitalize the Twulshootseed language by incorporating it into daily conversation. The program cultivates Twulshootseed language usage in school—it’s taught in the K-12 Chief Leschi School, at the University of Washington, and online—as well as at home, at work, in social settings, and through media and storytelling. Learn more on the program’s website, explore their youtube channel, or find them on social media.

Kalispel Language Program
The Kalispel Tribe of Indians developed the Kalispel Language Program to reclaim and preserve their Salish language and create a new generation of native language speakers. The program includes a curriculum that spans all age groups, learning materials like workbooks, songbooks, language software, and the Kalispel Language Immersion School for grades K-5. Salish is also taught to Junior High and High School students in the area. Learn more on the program’s website.

Kalispel Language Program founder and Language Director JR Bluff with a Kalispel Language Immersion School student.

Cowlitz Coast Salish Language Revitalization
In 2020, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe launched a partnership with The Language Conservancy to revitalize the use of the Cowlitz Coast Salish Language, which had been extinct for nearly 50 years. After reconstructing the language from old documents and recordings, the Tribe has developed a collection of learning tools, including an alphabet book, two picture books, an online dictionary, and a “Cowlitz Vocab Builder” app. Learn more on the Tribe’s website or in this recent article in Big Country News.

What Are Camas Lilies and Why Are They Important to Tribes?

Posted on May 22, 2025 by - Preserving Culture, Protecting Resources

Every spring, fields across the Pacific Northwest erupt in swaths of violet-blue as camas flowers bloom. These wildflowers are integral to the cultural, spiritual and culinary traditions of many tribes in Washington. Read the frequently asked questions below to learn about this important First Food.

Camas FlowerQ: What is camas?
A: Camas are wildflowers, part of the lily family, with blue-purple petals that grows in open meadows and prairies across the Pacific Northwest. You’ll usually see camas flowers in full bloom by late spring, turning whole fields into a sea of color. The plant’s starchy bulbs look like a cross between a garlic clove and a small potato. They are a good source of fiber and contain inulin, which can help control blood sugar. Camas is typically harvested between April and June when the flowers or dried petals are visible.

Q: Why is camas important to tribes?
A: Camas has long been a culturally and economically important resource for many tribes in the Pacific Northwest. It has been harvested, traded and used in traditional ceremonies for generations. Its spring bloom was known as a marker of changing seasons.

Though camas may not be a daily staple today, it remains deeply meaningful. It connects people to the land, their ancestors and the seasons. Today, tribes are restoring camas meadows, protecting harvesting areas and teaching traditional digging and cooking techniques to the next generation as part of a broader revitalization of traditional food and cultural practices.

Q: How is camas harvested and prepared?
A: Camas is dug in the spring, when its petals are visible (important for avoiding its toxic lookalike, death camas). Harvesters use traditional t-shaped digging sticks to lift the bulbs from the soil while protecting the meadow. The bulbs can be boiled, baked or slow-roasted. If only cooked for a short time, camas isn’t particularly flavorful, but when roasted over a longer period, it darkens and sweetens. Traditionally, camas roots were slow-cooked in underground ovens for 2-3 days. Today, a slow cooker is a more common cooking method.

Want to learn more about camas? Check out the following resources:

Washington Tribes Are Reviving First Food Traditions

Posted on September 22, 2024 by - INTERNAL - Carousel, Preserving Culture, Protecting Resources

Smoking salmon

What do salmon, camas, clams, and nettles have in common? They’re all Indigenous First Foods—part of a complex diet of natural resources that tribes have relied on since time immemorial. Traditional First Foods for tribes in what is now Washington state include berries, plants, roots, salmon, shellfish and wild game.

First Foods are more than just nourishment—they are vital to the cultural identity of Native tribes. They represent a deep connection with the land and a way of life that values respect and balance with nature. The right to hunt, gather and fish traditional foods is also fundamental to tribal sovereignty and guaranteed through tribal treaties.

Thimbleberry (ɫəɫaq in the Twulshootseed language)

Today, many tribes are working hard to revive Indigenous food traditions disrupted by colonization and industrialization. From clam gardens to camas harvests, tribes across the state are promoting health and sustainability, preserving culture and exercising their sovereignty through traditional food programs.

As part of this movement, Indigenous communities are sharing First Foods recipes, inviting others to experience these traditional flavors and learn about the deep cultural connections behind them.

Here’s a recipe to try at home!

You can find this recipe and a wealth of information about traditional foods and medicines on the Squaxin Island Tribe’s Salish Roots Farm Food Sovereignty Program Facebook page.