The Pacific Northwest people lived along 2,000 miles of coastline from southern Alaska to northern California. The plateau region was to the east beynd the Cascade mountain range, and California people lived to the south.

More than 500,000 people in tribes such as the Chinook, Haida, Nootka and Tlingit lived in the region before 1800. There was plenty of food and cedar to built their homes and make their canoes.