Washington
The pacific northwest was one of the first populated areas in what is now North America. The plentiful natural resources and varied geography gave rise to more than a hundred distinct cultures speaking at least fifty languages and dialects. In the coastal regions, people built out of cedar and subsisted primarily on seafood. The tribes who controlled Celilo Falls grew rich due to the optimal salmon fishing conditions. Meanwhile, tribes in the plateau hunted, fished, and gathered seasonally. The Yakama was a collective of five or six regional bands who spoke the same dialect of Ickhishkiin Sinwit (Sahaptin). They spent the coldest months on the valley floor to take advantage of the relatively moderate climate and then moved in the spring to fish or harvest in the mountains.
