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People of Cascadia: Today

by Cascadia Department of Bioregion

Today, first nations both on ceded and unceded territory, officially recognized or not, many displaced and having faced hundreds of years of attempted cultural erasure up until the 1970’s, continue to heal from colonial trauma and reconnect with a rich tapestry of Cascadian culture. In British Columbia in Northern Cascadia, there are now about 200,000 indigenous people in 198 distinct First Nations speaking 30 different languages and 60 different dialects, as well as Inuit and Métis, each with their own unique traditions and history. In Alaska, about 100,000 Native American, or Alaska Native people live in groups from the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a number of Northern Athabaskan cultures live, often defined by their language groups. Many Alaska Natives are enrolled in federally recognized Alaska Native tribal entities, who in turn belong to 13 Alaska Native Regional Corporations, who administer land and financial claims.

In central and southern Cascadia, a similar number of First Nations peoples live in tribes such as the Coast Salish, Chehalis, Colville, Cowlitz, Chinook, Hoh, Makah, Chimakum, Quilieute, Willapa, Tillamook, Nisga'a, Gitxsan, Haisla, Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Nisqually, Wuikinuxv, Puyallup, Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, Willapa, Yakama, S’Klallam, Kalispel, Elwha, Lummi, Muckleshoot, Quinault, Samish, Sauk-Siattle, Shoalwater, Skokomish, Snoqualmie, Duwamish, Spokane, Squaxin, Sauk-Suiattle, Stillaguamish, Suquamish, Swinomish, Tulalip, Skagit, Coeur D’Alene, Kootenai, Nez Perce, Shoshone Bannock. In Southern Cascadia, additional tribes include the Burns Paiute, Coos, Umpqua, Siuslaw, Grand Ronde, Siletz, Umatilla, Warm Springs, Coquille, Klamath.