Key Federal Agencies

• Department of Health and Human Services Indian Health Service.
• Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
• Department of the Interior (DOI).
• Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
• Department of Justice (DOJ).
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
• National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC).

Washington State Agencies

• Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs.

Portals and Search Engines

General portals to federal publications.

USA.Gov http://usa.gov/.

Official multi-topic portal to U.S. government information, linking to various federal government agencies and commissions.

“Indian Tribes and Resources for Native Americans | USAGov https://www.usa.gov/tribes.

A gateway to resources about Federally Recognized Indian Tribes; Cultural Resources for Native Americans including historic preservation, and archeology; Housing help; Legal resources including laws, crime prevention, and money and laws.

GobiernoUSA.Gov in Spanish http://gobierno.usa.gov/.

FDsys https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ Now GovInfo https://www.govinfo.gov/.

FDsys is GPO’s Federal Digital System. Provides free online access to official federal government publications.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications http://catalog.gpo.gov/.

CGP is GPO’s finding tool for federal publications.

MetaLib http://metalib.gpo.gov/.

Retrieve reports, articles, and citations by simultaneously searching across multiple federal government databases.

Kids.gov  https://kids.usa.gov/.

Government Information for Kids, Parents and Teachers. This information can also be found through USA.gov. Kids.gov has a fun interface that will appeal to kids.

Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government. http://bensguide.gpo.gov/.

Teaches kids from kindergarten through 12th grade about the federal government.

Catalogs and Databases

WorldCat.org: The World’s Largest Library Catalog. http://www.worldcat.org/.

Find publications (all formats) in libraries all over the world.

“Search the Library Catalog – Washington State Library – WA Secretary of State https://www.sos.wa.gov/library/catalog.aspx.

Note: Don’t assume that because a publication is not listed in WSL’s catalog or listed as one of our holdings in WorldCat that WSL does not own it. Like most federal depository libraries WSL does not have every item cataloged or inventoried. Regional libraries should have “everything.” So, call and ask if we have the publication even though it is not listed in the catalog.

Resource Guides

Many academic and research libraries publish “libguides.” These “library guides” are created using the Libguides software from Springshare. To find libguides I do a simple search such as libguides “American Indians” or libguides “American Indians” health care.

If you can locate a libguide or other resource guide on a given topic it may help you identify major resources, related topics, and other search terms. Libguides are great springboards to finding resources.

Here are examples of resource guides:

Government Documents – Native American Studies Research Guide – LibGuides at Michigan State University Libraries. http://libguides.lib.msu.edu/c.php?g=95603&p=624350.

Indian & Tribal Law Research — Gallagher Law Library.Gallagher Law Library, Univ. of Wash. School of Law.https://lib.law.washington.edu/content/guides/indian.

Indian Law Research Guide, National Indian Law Library, Native American Rights Fund (NARF).Native American Rights Fund (NARF): Nonprofit Indian Law Firm: Native American Rights Fund. http://www.narf.org/nill/resources/index.html.)

Native American Law – Research Guides at Washington State Law Library. Research Guides at Washington State Law Library. http://courts.wa.libguides.com/nativeamericanlaw.

This guide points to online and print library materials covering many areas of Native American law. Treaties, constitutions, codes and topical resources are included, as well as database help. Note: the beginning page includes ways to reach a librarian for assistance: phone, Ask a Librarian, live chat, email.

Native Americans – Government Sources by Subject – Library Guides at University of Washington Libraries. http://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/govpubs-quick-links?p=2304215.

Tribal Codes – American Indian Law – LibGuides at Gonzaga University School of Law. http://libguides.law.gonzaga.edu/c.php?g=302056&p=2014506.

Selected Resources and Information Locators

General Information

Federal Websites For/About Native Americans – OK Dept. of Libraries.  http://libraries.ok.gov/us-gov/native-fed
eral-links/.

Useful guide to federal resources with information on Native Americans.

Internet Archive: Wayback Machine Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine. http://archive.org/web/.

Under Construction A Directory of Data on American Indians and Alaska Natives Available for Research Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. http://bit.ly/2bigH4r.

List of Federally Recognized Tribes Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federally_recognized_tribes.

List of Unrecognized Tribes in the United States” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unrecognized_tribes_in_the_United_States.

Sturtevant, William C. Handbook of North American Indians. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1978. Print. WSL has most volumes (missing v.1 and v.16 of the 17 volumes). SuDoc: SI 1.20/2: vol.no.

An encyclopedia summarizing knowledge about all Native peoples north of Mesoamerica, including cultures, languages, history, prehistory, and human biology, is a standard reference work for anthropologists, historians, students, and the general reader. (Smithsonian) Many of the volumes are available through the Government Publishing Office although some are out of print. See http://anthropology.si.edu/handbook.htm.

TOP 50 QUESTIONS ABOUT AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES Frequently Asked Questions Native Americans California Indian Education Calie Educational Tribal Website of Calif Native American Indians Families Reservation and Urban Communities of North America USA Southern CA. http://www.californiaindianeducation.org/tribes/faq/.

Tribal Genealogy Research for Native American Indians How to Trace Indian Ancestry and Get Enrolled in Indian Tribes Kumeyaay Information Village Website Educational & Cultural Resources about Native American Indian Southern California Tribes. http://www.kumeyaay.info/california_indian_peoples/native_american_genealogy.html.

Washington State Tribal Directory Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs.http://goia.wa.gov/Tribal-Directory/TribalDirectory.pdf.

Culture

American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections. http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/index.html.

Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: G.P.O, 1895-1964. At WSL: SI 2.1 check the catalog.

Some volumes are cataloged separately. Some volumes are on microfiche.

Anthropological Papers. Washington: U.S. G.P.O, 1938-1966. Print. Some volumes available at WSL, SuDoc Number is SI 2.3:.

Bulletins. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletins. Washington: Gov. Print. Office, 1907. Print. Available at WSL, SuDoc Number is SI 2.3:. Volumes are cataloged individually. Examples:

The native brotherhoods: modern intertribal organizations of the Northwest coast. SI 2.3: no.168.

Index to Schoolcraft’s “Indian tribes of the United States” SI 2.3:152.

Nootka and Quileute music. SI 2.3:no124 in print and microfiche.

Chinook: an illustrative sketch. Rare SI 2.3:40/ pt.1.

Kathlamet texts. SI 2.3: no.26 in print and microfiche; also online at https://archive.org/details/kathlamettexts01boas.

Note: Some series will publish lists or indexes that will help identify individual publications such as: Bulletin 200: List of Publications of the American Bureau of Ethnology, with Index to Authors and Titles. , 1971. Print. Available at WSL: SI 2.3:200; also online at http://bit.ly/2gkWj8C.

Dobkins, Rebecca J., author. Cultural Plant Harvests on Federal Lands: Perspectives from Members of the Northwest Native American Basketweavers Association. United States Department of Agriculture, 2016. Print. Available at WSL! SuDoc No. A 13.78:PNW-RP-608.

Demographics

American FactFinder. American FactFinder. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.

Population, housing, economic and geographic data.

Indian Country in Judicial Districts. https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/indian-country-in-judicial-districts.pdf/view.

FBI — Uniform Crime Reporting http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr.

FBI Uniform crime statistics for the nation.

 FedStats – Your Window Into U.S. Federal Statistics. https://fedstats.sites.usa.gov/.

Portal to federal statistics by state, agency, and topic area.

Health Check Tools: MedlinePlus National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthchecktools.html.

Find a variety of calculators, quizzes, and assessment tools presented in an A to Z list of topics.

Healthfinder.gov Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion http://healthfinder.gov/.

Find health information from government and nonprofit sources, including calculators to help with assessing and tracking health and fitness.

 Statistical Abstracts Series http://bit.ly/2aN9qJ4 .

National database of social and economic conditions in U.S. Published from 1878 to 2012.

United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/.

U.S. Census Bureau information on population and the economy.

VitalStats Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/VitalStats.htm.

Find national birth and mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control.

Environment

Environmental Protection in Indian Country | US EPA US Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/tribal.

Federal Caucus – Ten Federal Agencies Working for Endangered Salmon and Steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. http://www.salmonrecovery.gov/.

Columbia River Basin Federal Caucus information about what the federal agencies and their partners are doing to restore habitat, improve hatcheries, manage predators and improve dam passage for Columbia Basin fish.

National Weather Service – Western Region Headquarters.  http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/.

Weather forecasts for the Western United States.

Window to My Environment Environmental Health Risk Assessment. http://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/healthrisk/window.html.

Environmental Protection Agency’s federal, state, and local information about environmental conditions and features in an area of your choice.

Federal Government

C-SPAN.org | National Politics | History | Nonfiction Books C-SPAN.org http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/.

Find all C-SPAN footage of Congressional and Presidential events from 1987 forward — television, radio and video.

Federal Register. http://www.federalregister.gov/.

Provides access to the official text of federal regulatory material, federal laws, and presidential documents.

Code of Federal Regulations., 1938.

Check with a depository library if you want to use the CFR in print. Go to this link to see which volumes are online: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionCfr.action?collectionCode=CFR.

Govpulse. http://www.govpulse.us/.

Search and browse Federal Register entries with this user-friendly interface.

Native One Stop Welcome to Native One Stop | Native One Stop. http://www.nativeonestop.gov/content/overview.

NativeOneStop.gov was launched in an effort to provide American Indians and Alaska Natives with easy, online access to Federal resources and programs. It is a partnership of many Federal agencies and organizations with a shared vision – to provide improved, personalized access to Federal resources and programs.

Executive

“Presidents of the United States (POTUS) Ipl2: Information You Can Trust. http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/.

Presidents USA. http://www.presidentsusa.net/. Resource guide to U.S. Presidents.

Whitehouse.gov. http://www.whitehouse.gov/. President, news, history and tours.

Legislative

Congress.gov | Library of Congress. https://www.congress.gov/.

Replaced Thomas on July 5, 2016.

“Federal Legislative History Research: A Practitioner’s Guide to Compiling … Legislative Intent LLSDC Home. http://www.llsdc.org/federal-legislative-history-guide.

Use this comprehensive guide from the Law Librarians’ Society of Washington, D.C. to conduct legislative history research.

“Serial Set Links: U.S. Congressional Documents American Memory from the Library of Congress. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsslink.html.

Serial Set. Selected documents and reports.

“Statutes at Large Home Page: U.S. Congressional Documents American Memory from the Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsl.html.

U.S. Laws and Resolutions, online 1789-1875.  The official compilation of the laws of each session of Congress (Library of Congress). Contact your federal depository library for assistance in finding other years.

“United States Code U.S. Government Publishing Office. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action?collectionCode=USCODE.

“The Code is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States” (Office of the Law Revision Counsel). It provides access to the U.S. Code. Code is available in PDF and Text. If you wish to use the Code at the State Library please call ahead so that we can have the volumes reading when you arrive.

The United States House of Representatives · House.gov. http://www.house.gov/.

House news, committee and floor schedules, legislative information.

The United States Senate – Senate.gov. http://www.senate.gov/.

Senate news, committee and floor schedules, tours.

“Washington State Legislature District finder. http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/.

Set district type to congressional and find your U.S. senators and representatives. Provides links to congressional member websites.

Judicial

“Court Websites Links United State Courts. http://bit.ly/2bmh4wt.

Listed by U.S. Region.

“Constitution Annotated Congress.gov | Library of Congress. https://www.congress.gov/constitution-annotated/.

Annotated Analysis and Interpretation.

Literal Prints – Constitution of the United States http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-CONAN-REV-2014/pdf/GPO-CONAN-REV-2014-6.pdf.

Amendments to the Constitution http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-CONAN-REV-2014/pdf/GPO-CONAN-REV-2014-6.pdf.

Supreme Court of the United States. https://www.supremecourt.gov/.

United States Courts. http://www.uscourts.gov/.

Federal Courts.

United States Reports: Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court. Washington: Govt. Print. Off, 1754. Print.

Print volumes at the Washington State Law Library. For online, full-text volumes see
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/boundvolumes.aspx.

“National Indian Law Library (NILL) of the Native American Rights Fund Native American Rights Fund (NARF): Nonprofit Indian Law Firm: Native American Rights Fund. http://www.narf.org/nill/.

Public law library devoted to federal Indian and tribal law. Also blog at nilllibrary.blogspot.com.

Health and Human Services

“Benefits and Service U.S. Department of the Interior.  https://www.doi.gov/tribes/benefits.

“Division of Diabetes – Programs – Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) Indian Health Service (IHS). https://www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/Diabetes/index.cfm?module=programsSDPI.

“Health Topics – Eating Healthy and Nutrition American Indian Health. https://americanindianhealth.nlm.nih.gov/eating.html.

National Library of Medicine. An information portal to issues affecting the health and well being of American Indians.

MedlinePlus – Health Information from the National Library of Medicine. http://medlineplus.gov/.

Health information from the National Library of Medicine.

“PubMed – NCBI National Center for Biotechnology Information. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed.

Access to over 12 million medical citations. Some full text.

History

Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for the Year. Washington, D.C: G.P.O, 1868- . Print. At WSL: I 20.1: vol. 872-898.

Annual Reports of the Secretary of War. Washington, D.C.: G.P.O, 18uu- . At WSL: W 1.1:.

Housing

“Public and Indian Housing / Equal Opportunity/U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HUD/U.S. http://bit.ly/2bgGXkq .

“Northwest ONAP (NWONAP) – HUD HUD/U.S. http://bit.ly/2bdvodc.

Legal and Justice

“A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1873 American Memory from the Library of Congress.

Links to Statutes at Large, 1789-1875, volumes 1 to 18. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsllink.html. Volumes 7, 9-16 include treaties. Click on the appropriate treaty link within a volume to find page numbers.

“American Indian Publication – Department of Justice Search Results U.S. Department of Justice. http://bit.ly/2bgNQAq.

American Indian Treaties Portal. http://treatiesportal.unl.edu/.

“FDsys – Browse USCODE U.S. Government Publishing Office. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action?collectionCode=USCODE.

Provides access to the U.S. Code. Code is available in PDF and Text.

“Indigenous Law Portal | Law Library of Congress Home | Library of Congress. http://bit.ly/2aTtZD4.

“Indigenous Law Portal: Pacific Northwest | Law Library of Congress Home | Library of Congress. http://bit.ly/2b9YKop.

“Tribal Court Clearinghouse Tribal Court Clearinghouse. http://www.tribal-institute.org/index.htm.

Tribal law, Federal law, State law, topics, program resources, native resources.

If you have comments on this list of resources or wish to add a resource please contact Rand Simmons, [email protected].

Need assistance finding state or federal publications? Contact our Ask a Librarian service.

From the desk of Jean Baker – Library Associate, Washington State Penitentiary

I was sitting in the office yesterday and someone pointed to the hallway and said, “Look at all of the puppies”.  I went out in the hallway and found about a dozen puppies spilling out of a basket and climbing over each other.  Standing around in a circle were about 10 grown men some with tattoos and ponytails cuddling, petting and cooing at the little canines thus erasing the stereotype of tough convicts with a few simple gestures.   The men told me they were about 3 weeks old and had every sort of coloring, black and white, brown and red, all brown, all white.

The men and the puppies are residents, some for a longer period than others of Coyote Ridge Corrections Center (CCRC), a medium custody facility in Connell, WA.   One of the prized jobs at CRCC is to be a dog handler.  These men are very dedicated care-takers of their charges who are brought to the prison to receive training and socialization before being adopted out to families in the community.

This program is one of the many normalizing activities these inmates can experience to help them learn new behaviors and skills for when they can re-enter society.   I was very excited to see this interaction of inmates and puppies while visiting the CRCC library.  The library is located in the building where inmate programs are held and is a branch of the Washington State Library.   The Institutional Services program of the State Library operates libraries in nine prisons and 2 mental hospitals in Washington.

I am the Branch Library Associate at Washington State Penitentiary and my visit was to assist newly hired CRCC Branch Library Associate, Justin Dickson with some final details of his training.    The CRCC library is the newest and largest of the institutional libraries, opening in February 2009.  At any time there can be 50-60 inmates using the library for one-hour periods.  Justin has 4 inmate library clerks who handle patron customer service as well as shelving materials and keeping the collection in good order.

The library program at CRCC is another normalizing activities that is highly used and appreciated by the inmates.  It is a neutral, comfortable environment which provides the opportunity to pursue interests, learn something new, find recreational reading and prepare for re-entry to the world outside the prison walls.

 

No matter what type of library you work in or what your role, we all have something in common.  We care about the people we serve, we care about providing excellent resources and we care about connecting those two things.  Library Development is the branch of the state library which administers federal (LSTA) funds.  We create programs to support the libraries of the state which we hope in turn will benefit the residents of Washington state.  We love what we do, but the nature of our work puts us one step away from our end users.  So we really love it when we hear stories about how our projects impact the lives of our fellow Washingtonians.

Imagine how happy we were to hear recently from Jamie Allwine, the manager at Winlock Timberland Library.  For the last few years the State Library has invested in several STEM kits which circulate around the state.  Allowing libraries to host technology based learning programs without a huge investment of their limited resources.  If you are a regular reader of this blog you will have heard about the Lego Mindstorms kits, or maybe the Snap Circuits or Ozobots.  However in this story the STEM kit which visited the Winlock Library was a Roominate program that was held at her library in September. Winlock is a small library and as such gets to know their patrons well.  Jamie wrote to us about a Latina family who were regulars at the library.  Mom routinely brings her three kids to the library but they only occasionally see the Dad.  Jamie and her staff routinely reach out to this family to join them in a program but until recently they have never attended one.  But something about the Roominate kits got their attention and this time the entire family attended.  Jamie reported that “Dad and Mom started out working with the girls building a Roominate house.  Then their son saw the Dash robot and wanted to play with that, so the father and son broke off and played with the Dash robot for a while, and then came back and helped complete the Roominate house.”

Información en español

From the desk of Rand Simmons

Need assistance finding information? Why don’t you Ask WA?

“Ask WA,” you say.

Ask-WA is a cooperative of more than 60 libraries throughout Washington State, both public and academic, that provide online reference services through chat, email, and instant messaging (IM). This statewide network is tied to a global network that provides access to online reference service, 24/7.

So, when you enter the Ask-WA portal, no matter the day or time, you should readily find help.

If you are a Spanish speaker there is a Spanish portal for you.

Ask-WA es un servicio de chat en línea que lo pone en contacto con un bibliotecario, tanto a nivel local como mundial. En inglés, éste servicio es disponible 24/7 utilizando una red mundial de bibliotecarios profesionales. En español, el servicio no es 24/7, a pesar de una extensa red de bibliotecarios de habla hispana que ofrece asistencia durante la mayor parte del tiempo, especialmente durante la semana.

Para saber si un bibliotecario está disponible para chatear en vivo, por favor, llene el formulario de chat en español de Ask-WA.

Si un bibliotecario no está disponible, usted puede enviar su pregunta por correo electrónico, usted recibirá una respuesta dentro de 48 horas (probablemente mucho antes).

Fiestas Patrias

Recently staff of the State Library’s Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) staffed a table at this year’s Fiestas Patrias  held at the Seattle Center. State Librarian Cindy Aden was on hand to greet people.

The festival celebrates the independence of  Latin American countries. Belizeans, Brazilians, Chileans, Costa Ricans, Salvadoreans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, Mexicans, and Nicaraguans from all over the Pacific Northwest to gather and enjoy great food, dance, and music.

Fiesta Patrias was a wonderful opportunity for people to become acquainted with the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library. We, in turn, learned more about the communities we want to serve — individuals needing reading and information in non-English languages.

State Librarian Cindy Aden stated, “We take the motto of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, “That All May Read,” seriously. We know that having reading material and information in multiple languages is crucial in our diverse society. I am proud of the efforts of  Washington Talking Book & Braille Library to reach out to the Hispanic community and to have published its first Spanish-language audio book. The State Library has also provides Spanish language support for our AskWA virtual reference service. We are always looking for more ways to make a difference, and we support and  encourage other Washington libraries to do the same”.

WTBBL services are available to all Washington State residents who are unable to read standard print due to one or more of the following conditions:

• Legal blindness
• Visual impairment
• Physical disability causing an inability to turn pages or comfortably hold a book for extended periods of time
• Deaf-blindness
• Reading disability due to organic dysfunction

Read more about the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library.

Las bibliotecas de prisiones

Our branch libraries in nine state prisons provide library and information services to inmates many of whom are non-English speakers. In 2014 the Prison Policy Initiative reported that Hispanics made up 14% of the inmates in Washington State prisons and jails. The State Library provides Spanish language material for those for whom English is not their native language. Our branch libraries are “public libraries” for the incarcerated.

Publicaciones federales en español

Federal and state publications are published in Spanish and other languages although the majority are published in English. For example, many of the tax materials published by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are published in Spanish and material for kids such as El Club de los Dos Bocados (Two Bite Plate) published by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service.

Sigue a Will y Anna a probar dos bocados de cada grupo alimenticio y de como se convierten en el Club de los Dos Bocados! Este libro muy colorido introduce los cinco grupos de alimentos de MiPlato a niños pequeños y los motiva a probar alimentos de cada grupo alimenticio. El libro que tiene actividades interactivas tales como narración optional, realce de texto, juegos y activades interactivas, cetificados y páginas para colorear ayudaran a los niños a aprender acerca de MiPlato y una alimentación sana al mismo tiempo que mejora sus abilidades de lectura.

You can borrow the book from the State Library or other federal depository libraries, read it on line, or download it.

Need assistance finding state or federal publications in Spanish? Contact our Ask a Librarian service. We can help you find resources such as these: America’s PrepareAthon! Materials in Spanish from FEMA.

From the desk of Evan Robb

COLUMBIA Magazine contributor Lionel Youst recently contacted us to identify a ca. 1901-1905 photo of a covered wagon (at right). The wagon is depicted aboard the Columbia River steamboat Charles R. Spencer. This badly-faded albumen print is from the Stevenson Community Library’s Skamania County Heritage digital collection (click image to see full record). Despite the photo’s poor condition, Youst spotted something about the wagon’s canvas cover—a large tear. It made him recall a detail from the reminiscences of his grandfather. Here’s what he told us:

“My grandparents, Frank and Alice Youst sold their homestead in Woods County, Oklahoma Territory and headed toward Centralia, Washington on August 22, 1903. [Their family of five] stopped and worked the horses at railroad construction and mining jobs on the way out. The canvas sheet [on the family’s wagon] was badly torn when it tipped over trying to go around a slide on the road over the Rocky Mountains. Dad said it was too hard to sew, and it remained torn all the way out to Centralia. I think what we see on the left side bottom of the sheet is a tear—bigger than I thought it would be, but that could be it.”

With a bit of assistance from his friend Shirley Bridgham, Youst was able to tease a bit more detail out of the faded photo—click on the image at left to see a full-sized version of the optimized photo.

In addition to the tear, other details about the photo line up with Youst’s grandfather’s recollections.

“The last leg of the journey was from Tonopah, Nevada where Grandad was hauling ore. They came up through Eastern Oregon to Prineville and Madras, and on to The Dalles where they took passage on a steamboat with the three horses, the wagon, and the family, down through the Cascade Locks to Vancouver. They arrived in in Centralia, Washington on June 26, 1904, after 308 days on the road, a family of five living out of that wagon. They certainly boarded the steamboat at The Dalles on or about June 20, 1904—give or take two or three days.”

While we don’t have an exact date for the original photo, we do know that this photo was very likely taken at Cascade Locks (across the Columbia River from Stevenson), between 1901 and 1905, and that the Charles R. Spencer was one of the two steamboats running The Dalles to Portland/Vancouver route at that time.

So is it his grandparents’ wagon?  According to Youst: “If it isn’t…it’s close enough!” For a detailed account of Youst’s family’s journey, see his upcoming article in COLUMBIA: The Magazine of Northwest History.

From the desk of Jeff Martin

The river of the west: life and adventure in the Rocky Mountains and Oregon

By: Frances Fuller Victor, 1826-1902

Hartford, Conn: Columbian Book Company

Publication Date: 1870

“Mr. Meek was born in Washington Co., Virginia, in 1810, one year before the settlement of Astoria, and at a period when Congress was much interested in the question of our Western possessions and their boundary. ” Manifest destiny” seemed to have raised him up, together with many others, bold, hardy, and fearless men, to become sentinels on the outposts of civilization, securing to the United States with comparative ease a vast extent of territory, for which, without them, a long struggle with England would have taken place, delaying the settlement of the Pacific Coast for many years, if not losing it to us altogether. It is not without a feeling of genuine self-congratulation, that I am able to bear testimony to the services, hitherto hardly recognized, of the “mountain-men” who have settled in Oregon.. Whenever there shall arise a studious and faithful historian, their names shall not be excluded from honorable mention, nor least illustrious will appear that of Joseph L. Meek, the Rocky Mountain Hunter and Trapper.”

“SUNSET AT THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA..

There sinks the sun; like cavalier of old,
Servant of crafty Spain,
He flaunts his banner, barred with blood and gold,
Wide o’er the western main ;
A thousand spear heads glint beyond the trees
In columns bright and long,
While kindling fancy hears upon the breeze
The swell of shout and song.

And yet not here Spain’s gay, adventurous host
Dipped sword or planted cross;
The treasures guarded by this rock-bound coast
Counted them gain nor loss.
The blue Columbia, sired by the eternal hills
And wedded with the sea,
O’er golden sands, tithes from a thousand rills,
Rolled in lone majesty-

Through deep ravine, through burning, barren plain,
Through wild and rocky strait,
Through forest dark, and mountain rent in twain
Toward the sunset gate;
While curious eyes, keen with the lust of gold,
Caught not the informing gleam,
These mighty breakers age on age have rolled
To meet this mighty stream.

Age after age these noble hills have kept,
The same majestic lines;
Age after age the horizon’s edge been swept
By fringe of pointed pines.
Summers and Winters circling came and went,
Bringing no change of scene;
Unresting, and unhasting, and unspent,
Dwelt Nature here serene!

Till God’s own time to plant of Freedom’s seed,
In this selected soil ;
Denied forever unto blood and greed,
But blest to honest toil.
There sinks the sun; Gay cavalier no more
His banners trail the sea,
And all his legions shining on the shore
Fade into mystery.

The swelling tide laps on the shingly beach,
Like any starving thing;
And hungry breakers, white with wrath, upreach,
In a vain clamoring.
The shadows fall; just level with mine eye
Sweet Hesper stands and shines,
And shines beneath an arc of golden sky,
Pinked round with pointed pines.

A noble scene! all breadth, deep tone, and power,
Suggesting glorious themes;
Shaming the idler who would fill the hour
With unsubstantial dreams.
Be mine the dreams prophetic, shadowing forth
The things that yet shall be,
When through this gate the treasures of the North
Flow outward to the sea.”

Excerpt by Frances Fuller Victor

Washington State Electronic State Publications – The river of the west

The last of the three great National Parks we are featuring this month is Washington’s North Cascades Park.  It is also the last of our parks to be designated as such, with park status only coming in 1968 with the passing of the North Cascades National Park Act.  The park along with two “National Recreation Areas”, Ross Lake and Lake Chelan, and all are managed as the North Cascades National Park Complex.

However long before it became a National Park this area was well known for its beauty and ruggedness.  One of the chief missions of the Washington State Library is to “Collect, preserve, and make accessible to Washingtonians materials on the government, history, culture, and natural resources of the state.”  In other words, for anything to do with Washington State history, we are a great place to start.

While we do not have a primary source record from the Native American viewpoint we have information about the native cultures of the area.

Mierendorf, Robert R, and Kenneth C. Reid. People of the North Cascades. Seattle, Wash: National Park Service, Pacific Northwest Region, 1986. I 29.2:C 26/6 c.2

Smith, Allan H. Ethnography of the North Cascades. Pullman: Center for Northwest Anthropology, Washington State University, 1988. WA 378.5 Un3eth n 1987

Early settlers to the region also kept accounts of their travels and discoveries. Three books immediately jump to the head of the line.

Küster, Heinrich, and Harry M. Majors. Discovery of Mount Shuksan and the Upper Nooksack River, June 1859. Seattle, Wash: Northwest Press, 1984.  NW 979.5 Northwest 1984

Küster, Heinrich, and Harry M. Majors. First Crossing of the Picket Range 1859. Seattle, Wash: Northwest Press, 1984.  NW 979.5 Northwest 1984

Ross, Alexander, Thomas J. Dryer, and Adella M. Parker. The First Crossing of the North Cascades. Seattle, Wash: Northwest Press, 1980. NW 979.95 Northwest 1980

But what if you wanted to learn about contemporary park management or the environmental aspects of the park?  We not only collect Washington State Documents but as a Federal Repository we collect and provide access to federal documents about the park.

Lesher, Robin. Botanical Reconnaissance of Silver Lake Research Area, North Cascades National Park, Washington. Portland, Or: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, 1984.

North Cascades: A Guide to the North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Washington. Washington, D.C: Division of Publications, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1986.

General Management Plan and Environmental Assessment: North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. , Washington, D.C: Division of Publications, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1987

Ecological Effects of Stocked Trout in Naturally Fishless High-Elevation Lakes, North Cacades National Park Service Complex, Wa, USA. Seattle, Wash.: National Park Service, Pacific Northwest Region, 1999.

Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan: Environmental Impact Statement. Sedro-Woolley, WA: North Cascades National Park Service Complex, 2008. Volume 1, Volume 2

What about just the pure pleasure of visiting the park?  Well we’ve got you covered there too.

Spring, Ira, and Harvey Manning. 100 Hikes in Washington’s North Cascades National Park Region. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers, 2000. NW 917.9773 ONE HUN 2000  

Dietrich, William, Craig Romano, Gary Snyder, Christian Martin, and Richard Louv. The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby. , 2014 NW 508.797 DIETRIC 2014 

Bake, William A. Stehekin: A Wilderness Journey into the North Cascades. Washington, D.C.: Division of Publications, National Park Service, 1977  RARE 917.9759 BAKE 1977

And finally for those of you who stuck with me to the end of this post, I saved the best for last with the prize for most original chapter title being “Run hippie run! Rednecks gonna get ya!”

Harrison, Buckwheat” B. Hippie Tales of the Northwest Woods. Minneapolis: Mill City Press, 2014.  NW 305.568 HARRISO 2014  

From the desk of Jeff Martin 

Army letters from an Officer’s Wife, written by: Frances M.A. Roe

Appleton And Company, New York and London

Publication date: October 1909

Note: In 1871, Lieutenant Colonel Fayette Washington Roe (1850-1916) was sent to Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory. His wife, Frances M.A. Roe, describes their experiences while stationed at the fort in this collection of letters.

“It is late, so this can be only a note to tell you that we arrived here safely, and will take the stage for Fort Lyon to-morrow morning at six o’clock. I am thankful enough that our stay is short at this terrible place, where one feels there is danger of being murdered any minute. Not one woman have I seen here, but there are men any number of dreadful-looking men each one armed with big pistols, and leather belts full of cartridges. But the houses we saw as we came from the station were worse even than the men. They looked, in the moonlight, like huge cakes of clay, where spooks and creepy things might be found. The hotel is much like the houses, and appears to have been made of dirt, and a few drygoods boxes. Even the low roof is of dirt. The whole place is horrible, and dismal beyond description, and just why anyone lives here I cannot understand.”

Excerpt by Frances M.A. Roe

Washington State Library Electronic State Publications – Army Letters From An Officers Wife, 1909

From the desk of Judy Pitchford

Do you like history? Do you enjoy creative projects? Well, do we have something for you!

Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, is sponsoring the 2nd Annual Historical Zine Contest with co-sponsors Washington State Archives and Timberland Regional Library. Participants are asked to create a Zine about some aspect of Washington History.

Washington residents from 4th grade and up (yes, adults, too!) are asked to participate.

Don’t know how to make a zine? Visit our Zine webpage and watch a video that shows how.

All three sponsors have a multitude of resources that can provide fantastic material to use in the creations of participants.

• Washington State Library has many online resources that include books, maps, newspapers and photos. You can also find featured images from these digital collections on their Pinterest and Flickr pages. And don’t forget that you can visit the library to see some resources in person!
• Washington State Archives has an extensive print collection, as well as many images at the Digital Archives.
• And you can visit the Timberland Libraries to explore their NW Reference Collection, Zine Collection and Zine Resource Collection.

Entries will be accepted from September 1, 2016 – December 15, 2016. So start creating!

For many people when they think of Washington State the first thing that comes to mind is Mount Rainier. The tallest peak in the state, at 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier dominates the landscape on both the east and west side of the state and all Washingtonians feel that it is “their mountain.”

On March 2, 1899, Mount Rainier was established as the fifth national park, named so by William McKinley.  The park is a veritable year round wonderland for those who love the outdoors. Possibilities range from fishing, bike riding, hiking, camping, and climbing in the summer, to skiing, tubing and snowshoeing in the winter. For those who like to just sit and admire the scenery, Longmire and Paradise each has a beautiful old inn. Also within the park boundaries are 228,480 acres of wilderness.

But before Mount Rainier became a national park there was of course a long history to the area including Native American legend.  One of the missions of the State Library, that we take very seriously, is to preserve the history of our state. We have many books in our catalog but for this blog post the focus is on our Digital Collections.  In order to make our materials easily accessible, we’ve been working for many years to digitize public domain books and journals in our collection.

When it comes to Mount Rainier, one of the best historic resources is Edmond Meany’s “Mount Rainier: a record of exploration”. This book is a collection of essays about the mountain including its discovery by George Vancouver, the story of the first accent by Hazard Stevens, the natural history of the mountain and an essay on the creation of the park.

Another source for history is our digital newspapers collection.  In the early days of our state Mount Rainier was often called “Mt. Tacoma” or “Mt. Tahoma”, the Native American name. This fact is acknowledged in Meany’s book and born out in the controversy over the name of the new national park.
In the March 7^th Seattle Post Intelligencer an article titled “An insult to Tacoma” heatedly defends the name Rainier. “Some foolish people, including the Ledger, past and present, have tried to change the name of Rainier to Tacoma, but they have failed… If Mount Rainier is worthy of the distinction of a national park, the park should bear the name of the mountain.”

Over the years Mount Rainier remained newsworthy, with articles such as the May 12, 1916 Washington Standard’s “Mt. Rainier’s Flowers – Unequaled in Beauty, Number and Luxuriance, says Uncle Sam” .  In 1910 The Walla Walla Evening Statesman proposed regulating automobiles in the park, however by December 7, 1920 an article in the Seattle Star instead proposed new roads to increase access and travel to the park.

As a Federal Depository the State Library also holds electronic federal documents for the state.  A search of our catalog unearthed “WONDERLAND: An Administrative History of Mount Rainier National Park” by Theodore Catton. This book records the history of the park from the days before it’s designation as a national park  through the end of the 20th century.

Having a national park in Washington also generated a lot of tourist interest and tourist dollars.  The early newspapers show evidence of efforts to take advantage of this.  You find advertisements for tours and postcards, even gasoline to get you there.  Today Mount Rainier continues to be a centerpiece of our state with an average of 1-2 million people visiting each year.  Have you visited lately?

Image sources:

“Gorgeous Mt. Rainier.” Pullman Herald 10 June 1921. Web. 14 July 2016.

Skiing at Mount Rainier National Park