The Olympic Peninsula of Washington State became part of us in the early 1980s. When our eldest daughter when "out west" to practice the profession of being a Forester we discovered a grand new part of America. The Temperate Rain Forest of the Olympic mountains remains a relatively undeveloped and rugged part of the American scene.
The Quinault and other Native groups have a long history of living with sea and forest along the north west coastal frontier with the Pacific Ocean. In Minnesota the Native cultures are primarily Ojibway and Dakota. The histories of Minnesota and Washington tribal interface with European new comers to America differs in some significant ways. In Minnesota the Sioux Uprising in the 1860s involved family members some of whom were killed in the Uprising. As a result of the violence of that time a reservation system was established. It is only in recent years with the coming of casino gaming that Native peoples have had an economic base of substance.
On the Olympic peninsula the remote situation worked to the benefit of the Native people in that Europeans had a long way to go to get there and the land was not seen as particularly valuable. The Quinault and others have had a strong cultural life related to the overwhelming influence of natural forces - Rain - Sea - Rain Forests - Fog - Mountainous Terrain - Wind - Aquatic Life. Their remoteness from major population centers has worked to their benefit.
Recent studies have shown that a site near the community of Forks is likely the most silent place in the States.The immense trees and steep hillsides of the Olympics keeps mass civilization at bay.
A good many Minnesotans went to Washington State in the 1900s when the Forest were diminished by the wholesale cutting of timber to supply national markets. Foresters trained and experienced in Minnesota went from the Pine and Fir of Minnesota to the abundant Western Hemlock, Sitka Spruce and Western Red Cedar of the Olympics. In the 1980s our family took its place with that number. Our lives have been enriched.
The Quinault and other Native groups have a long history of living with sea and forest along the north west coastal frontier with the Pacific Ocean. In Minnesota the Native cultures are primarily Ojibway and Dakota. The histories of Minnesota and Washington tribal interface with European new comers to America differs in some significant ways. In Minnesota the Sioux Uprising in the 1860s involved family members some of whom were killed in the Uprising. As a result of the violence of that time a reservation system was established. It is only in recent years with the coming of casino gaming that Native peoples have had an economic base of substance.
On the Olympic peninsula the remote situation worked to the benefit of the Native people in that Europeans had a long way to go to get there and the land was not seen as particularly valuable. The Quinault and others have had a strong cultural life related to the overwhelming influence of natural forces - Rain - Sea - Rain Forests - Fog - Mountainous Terrain - Wind - Aquatic Life. Their remoteness from major population centers has worked to their benefit.
Recent studies have shown that a site near the community of Forks is likely the most silent place in the States.The immense trees and steep hillsides of the Olympics keeps mass civilization at bay.
A good many Minnesotans went to Washington State in the 1900s when the Forest were diminished by the wholesale cutting of timber to supply national markets. Foresters trained and experienced in Minnesota went from the Pine and Fir of Minnesota to the abundant Western Hemlock, Sitka Spruce and Western Red Cedar of the Olympics. In the 1980s our family took its place with that number. Our lives have been enriched.
