Culture: Tribal gathering celebrates unifying culture of an ancient game - Washington tribal families gather at Seattle Pacific University to celebrate the unifying culture of Sla-hal.

Culture: How to Help an Endangered Language - Members of the Siletz Indian tribe in the northwestern state of Oregon take pride in their language. Their language, they say, "is as old as time itself." But today very few people can speak it fluently. In fact, you can count the number of fluent speakers on one hand. Bud Lane is one of them. BUD LANE: "We had linguists that had come in and done assessments of our people and our language and they labeled it -- I'll never forget this term -- 'moribund,' meaning it was headed for the ash heap of history."

Culture: A Powerful Exhibit About the Survival of Washington Indians Opens Soon - A powerful, four-part art exhibit is coming to the Office of the Secretary of State in Washington State—We’re Still Here. The Survival of Washington Indians. Govenor Chris Gregoire, Secretary of State Sam Reed, state Representative John McCoy, and Nisqually tribal leader Billy Frank Jr. are among those speaking at the unveiling event. Performances from the Chehalis Canoe Family and Chief Leschi Schools Drum and Dance Group will round out this special day.

Culture: Heritage Center exhibit opens April 24 in Legislative Building - A powerful new exhibit about Native Americans in Washington opens soon in the Office of Secretary of State’s front lobby at the Capitol. The privately funded exhibit is called “We’re Still Here. The Survival of Washington Indians.” It was created by the Washington State Heritage Center, a part of the Office of Secretary of State. The free exhibit’s launch will take place during a special program April 24 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Capitol Rotunda.

Culture: Celebrating culture at Springfield powwow - Native people of all ages and tribes gathered together on Saturday, April 21st to celebrate their heritage through an annual powwow at Springfield High School.

Culture: Nisqually film festival connects viewers with the environment - The Nisqually Wild and Scenic Film Festival will feature nearly 20 films with the goal of encouraging attendees to become better stewards of their environment. Among the films that will be screened are three locally produced films: “Lost and Puget Sound,” “Canoe Way: The Sacred Journey” and “Shadow of the Salmon.” “Canoe Way” was produced by Tacoma filmmaker Mark Celletti and executive producer Robert Satiacum, a member of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and son of the late chief Bob Satiacum. It tells the story of the annual tribal journey taken aboard more than 100 American Indian canoes. “Shadow of the Salmon” is the story of a young Lakota Nation man who visits his Coastal Salish relatives in the Northwest. During his visit, he learns about salmon and the Northwest environment.

Culture: ‘Crooked Arrows’ Earns Standing Ovation at Sneak Preview - Neal Powless calls Crooked Arrows the “first Native American family movie”—and it received a standing ovation at the sneak preview. Among those who stood to praise the film was CBS News correspondent Hattie Kauffman, Nez Perce. Crooked Arrows will see its theatrical release May 18.

Culture: Adam McIsaac fell in love with Columbia River art; now others are loving his art - Adam McIsaac has no Native American blood. He is German, Scottish and Irish. But his biologist father taught him to love the Columbia River, its history and its natural beauty. Enchanted by art, he left Clark College to study the ways of the early Columbia River people. Over the past 18 years, he has chiseled his way into their history.

Culture: Off The Rez brings Native American food to Seattle - Mark McConnell's mother grew up on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana, and he grew up in Seattle eating the frybread and "Indian tacos" and other foods that his mom and grandmother would cook for gatherings and special occasions. At some point, he noticed that our region, despite its many tribes, had no everyday eatery for Native American foods. We had "a large community, but no cuisine," he said, a phenomenon that has confounded onlookers for years. Enter Off The Rez, the big blue food truck McConnell and partner Cecilia Rikard recently opened.

Culture: Tribal art show in Toppenish displays the art of legend - The 48th annual "Spilyay Art Show, Native American and Western Show" takes center stage this weekend in the Winter Lodge at the Yakama Nation Cultural Center in Toppenish. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $2.

Culture: Celilo Falls and Celilo Village - For more than 12,000 years, native people inhabited several villages clustered around the roar of Wyam of N’ch-iwana — Celilo Falls on the Columbia River — the center of a vast salmon-based fishing and trading economy and the nucleus of many sacred sites, petroglyphs and burial grounds. Today, Celilo Falls and Celilo Village are rarely marked on any maps.

Culture: Bald eagle permit a victory for tradition - A federal government decision to allow a Wyoming tribe to kill two bald eagles for a religious ceremony is a victory for American Indian sovereignty as well as for long-suppressed religious freedoms, the tribe says. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted a permit March 9 to the Northern Arapaho Tribe allowing it either to kill or capture and release two bald eagles this year.

Culture: 2012 Canoe Journey stops at Port Gamble S’Klallam July 20, Suquamish July 21-22 - The 2012 Canoe Journey / Paddle to Squaxin will stop at Port Gamble S’Klallam July 20 and Suquamish July 21-22, according to a map posted online after the March 3 canoe skippers’ planning meeting at Muckleshoot. The Squaxin Island Tribe recently launched PaddleToSquaxin2012.org, an information and news website for the final stop in the 2012 Canoe Journey.

Culture: Some American Indian Tribes Recording Faster Growth Than Rest of US - In the United States the rate of natural increase is about one percent a year. However, over the past ten years, growth rates for some American Indian tribes have been two to three times higher than the national average. The federal government recognizes five hundred sixty-six American Indian and Alaska Native tribes within the United States. In some ways the tribes are nations within a nation. They can make their own laws on their reservation lands. And their governments have complete authority to decide who can be a member of the tribe. Tribal citizenship is based on the blood lines of ancestors.

Culture: Traditional foods are treaty foods - Wildlife habitat in Western Washington is disappearing rapidly. Deer, elk and other wildlife are being crowded into smaller and smaller areas in the remaining good habitat, making it difficult for tribal members to exercise their treaty hunting rights. If we lose our ability to hunt, we lose an important source of traditional food, and we can't afford to do that. Indian people evolved eating traditional foods like elk, salmon, clams and berries. These are the foods that are best for our bodies.

Culture: Memorial Totem Pole Raised At Seattle Center - On Sunday at Seattle Center, a totem pole was raised in memory of John T. Williams. Members of Native American tribes from around the region celebrated Williams' life and the traditional woodcarving he practiced. They hope Williams' death at the hands of a Seattle police officer will ultimately result in greater understanding and acceptance.

Culture: Memorial totem pole for slain carver being raised Sunday - Slain carver John T. Williams' family and friends carved a memorial totem pole being raised now in commemoration of Williams' birthday this month.

Culture: Totem pole raised in honour of man killed by officer - A massive totem pole was carried by 120 people along the Seattle waterfront on Sunday as a tribute to a man who was shot to death by a police officer in 2010.

Culture: John T. Williams totem pole raised - PHOTOS

Culture: Totem pole to honor slain Seattle woodcarver - A procession of hundreds of community members carried the totem pole from Pier 57 to the Seattle Center, where it will be gifted to the city of Seattle.

Culture: The tribes of the Klamath River - There are five Indian tribes - the Yurok, Karuk, Hoopa, Shasta and Klamath - that have lived, worked and played along the banks of the Klamath River since time immemorial.

Culture: Is it time to rename Mount Rainier to its former native name? - Mount Rainier was once known by its many native names. Now, an alliance of tribal members is moving forward with a proposal to restore an original name to this Northwest landmark. But a long bureaucratic process lies ahead.

Culture: Gathering of Oregon’s First Nations Powwow - American Indians from Tribes across Oregon and the United States celebrated their shared history during the fourth annual Gathering of Oregon’s First Nations Powwow held at the Oregon State Fairgrounds on Saturday, January 28. With tables in the atrium of the fairgrounds’ Salem Pavilion, many of the five sponsoring western Oregon Tribes showed their histories and cultures as hundreds came by for the powwow inside. About 50 vendors – all with Native-made goods – dotted the outside circle with their wares.

Culture: How to eat local forever: lessons on food security from First Nations - With the ongoing controversy over the Enbridge oil pipeline, the connection of First Nations people to their land has come into focus. In this article, members of the First Nations community show the way they live off the land and eat local, natural foods. This is a treasured way of life that will be threatened if a pipeline carrying oilsands from Alberta cuts through their territories.

Culture: Oregon tribes meet at annual gathering - Two canoes easily suited for a dozen paddlers sat on trailers in the Pavilion at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. They were among the exhibited items of interest to Saturday's powwow visitors. The canoe exhibits marked a piece of the fourth annual Gathering of Oregon's First Nations, a Fairgrounds powwow that featured tastes of Native American culture from western Oregon ranging from handcrafts to canoes, along with a plenty of dancing in colorful attire and native chanting with the rumble of accompanying drumbeats.

Culture: Five Tribes, Fourth Year: The Gathering of Oregon’s First Nations Powwow - What started out as a reminder to Oregonians that Native peoples had called the Pacific Northwest home long before statehood was established has now become an annual celebration. We’re talking about the fourth annual Gathering of Oregon’s First Nations powwow, which starts today at noon and goes until 9 p.m.

Powwow: Tribes hold fourth annual First Nations Powwow - Looking for a little weekend excitement? Plan to visit northeast Salem on Saturday for the local tribal powwow. The fourth annual Gathering of Oregon's First Nations Powwow is scheduled from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Pavilion at Oregon State Fairgrounds & Exposition Center, 2330 17th St. NE. The free event is organized by the five federally recognized tribes in western Oregon — the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, Coquille Indian Tribe, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and Confederated Tribes of Siletz — and it serves to recognize and celebrate native people who pre-date Oregon's 1859 statehood.

Culture: Salish Bounty: traditional foods exhibit at the Burke Museum - Native people of the Salish Sea have lived off the bounty of this place for thousands of years. A new exhibit at The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington campus, created in collaboration with area tribes, explores and explains the indigenous foods of the region as well as their gathering and use. Salish Bounty: Traditional Native American Foods of Puget Sound focuses on the revival of traditional food gathering and use in the region, but also provides an intimate look into the past.

Culture: Popular powwow returns to Oregon State Fairgrounds - Anyone up for a powwow should plan to visit northeast Salem Saturday, Jan. 28. The fourth annual Gathering of Oregon’s First Nations Powwow is scheduled from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Pavilion at Oregon State Fairgrounds & Exposition Center. The free event is organized by the five federally recognized tribes in western Oregon, and it serves to recognize and celebrate native people who pre-date Oregon’s 1859 statehood.

Culture: Native Americans gather for powwow in Portland to celebrate the New Year without alcohol - Possibly the largest Portland party tonight is the powwow at the Oregon Convention Center, where thousands of Native Americans and others will close out the year with drums, songs, dance – and not a drop of alcohol. Some authorities say the term powwow comes from the Algonquin Indian word "pau wau," referring to a gathering of medicine and spiritual leaders in a healing ceremony. Powwows have become increasingly popular and organized nationwide over the past century as intertribal gatherings where Native Americans can share cultural traditions. They continue to have healing and spiritual qualities.

Culture: Native Americans gather for powwow in Portland to celebrate the New Year without alcohol - Possibly the largest Portland party tonight is the powwow at the Oregon Convention Center, where thousands of Native Americans and others will close out the year with drums, songs, dance – and not a drop of alcohol. Some authorities say the term powwow comes from the Algonquin Indian word "pau wau," referring to a gathering of medicine and spiritual leaders in a healing ceremony. Powwows have become increasingly popular and organized nationwide over the past century as intertribal gatherings where Native Americans can share cultural traditions. They continue to have healing and spiritual qualities.

Culture: Reconciling Christianity and Native Beliefs: Bridging the Gap - Jesuit priest and author Patrick J. Twohy is a Washingtonian of Irish ancestry who has worked among the Plateau and Coast Salish peoples for almost 40 years. His book, Finding a Way Home: Indian & Catholic Spiritual Paths of the Plateau Tribes, first published in 1983, is in its fifth printing, the latest made possible by a grant from the Puyallup Tribe.

Culture: How Do You Prove You’re an Indian? - Who is and who isn’t an Indian is a complicated question, but there are many ways to answer it beyond genetics alone. A respect for blood is a respect for the integrity of that survival, and lineage should remain a metric for tribal enrollment. But not the only one: bending to a common purpose is more important than arising from a common place.

Culture: Faux Native American fashion - Native-inspired art walks a fine line

Culture: Indian artifacts a tough sell for SOHS: Sale could raise $500,000 for historical society, but upsets tribal members

Culture: High Schooler First Not Allowed, Then Allowed, to Wear Eagle Feather in Graduation Cap

Culture: Painted Sky Northstar Dancers connect to Native American heritage through music, dance

Culture: Learn about canoes at Nov. 12 Family Native American event