complex web of humanity has lived along the Columbia River since time immemorial. Groups of people from many different backgrounds, speaking different languages, established a means to communicate and share the resources of this vast region.

Oral history from many of these tribes documents an age-old relationship with the lands and waters of the Columbia basin. Non-Indians teach that these people crossed a land bridge between Asia and North America - the Bering land bridge - but the people themselves say "we have always been here."

If you followed Lewis and Clark on their homeward journey from Fort Clatsop to the headwaters of the Clearwater River, you would pass through three very different areas: the wetlands along the Lower Columbia; the cascades, falls and rapids where the river passes between the Cascade Mountains; and the Columbia Plateau. Each of these areas has different climatic and environmental characteristics which influenced the people who settled there. Within each of these culture areas you will learn about important traditions of the cultures of the native peoples along this route.