We are among the small number of Americans who can walk the same beaches, paddle the same waters, and hunt the same lands our ancestors did centuries ago. The Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) consists of the Quinault and Queets tribes and descendants of five other coastal tribes: Quileute, Hoh, Chehalis, Chinook, and Cowlitz.

Our ancestors lived on a major physical and cultural dividing line. Beaches to the south are wide and sandy, while to the north, they are rugged and cliff-lined. We shared in the cultures of the people to the south as well as those to the north.

Living in family groups in long houses up and down the river, we were sustained by the land and by trade with neighboring tribes. Superb salmon runs, abundant sea mammals, wildlife, and forests provided substantial material and spiritual wealth to our ancestors.

A great store of knowledge about plants and their uses helped provide for our people. The western redcedar, the tree of life, provided logs for canoes, bark for clothing, split boards for houses, and more. We are the Canoe People, the people of the cedar tree.

We remember our past while employing modern principles in a marriage that will bring hope and promise to our people now and in the future.