5 places to learn about the Northwest's Native Inhabitants in Seattle

The Duwamish Tribe is ‘the host tribe of Seattle.’ Visit duwamishtribe.org/history to learn about their history in the region prior to your visit. The Duwamish Longhouse is in West Seattle. Support the tribe and its mission by visiting the Longhouse Store in person or online.

The Daybreak Star Cultural Center is located inside Seattle’s Discovery Park and is a cultural gathering place for ‘Indians of all Tribes.’ The facility hosts a permanent collection of Native art, rotating exhibits and a gift shop.

The Hibulb Cultural Center & Natural History Preserve tells the history and traditions of the Tulalip people and is located in Tulalip, approximately 35 miles north of Seattle. The Power of Words exhibit at the Center is particularly informative for those unfamiliar with the Point Elliot Treaty and the role literacy and the written word plays in Tulalip lives today.

The House of Welcome and Cultural Center is ‘A Gathering Place for People of all Cultures’ and is located at Evergreen State College in Olympia, 70 miles southwest of Seattle. Local tribes worked together with the university to construct the building in 1995. The facility hosts a variety of educational and festival events open to the public.

The Burke Museum at the University of Washington is an excellent place to go to deepen your understanding of Seattle and the PNW, especially through their Northwest Native Art exhibit. It includes rotating contemporary and historic art as well as a canoe, totem poles and pieces of Native house structures.