Native American Heritage Month photo challenge


November is Native American Heritage Month. Pacific Northwest tribes along the Columbia basin hold an annual ceremony, shown in this photo, to mark the beginning of open-fishing season. What is the name of the tradition?

Click the photo to view a larger version.
Former Secretary of State Ralph Munro is fondly remembered by our readers, as dozens of respondents wrote in to correctly identify him.
Leadership changes are coming to Washington State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State
State Archivist Steve Excell has announced his retirement, effective Nov. 30. Excell has served as director of State Archives since 2012. He previously served as Assistant Secretary of State from 2001-2012. Excell first began civil service in 1980 as part of Governor-Elect John Spellman’s transition team, and later as his Chief of Staff. He has spent a large part of his career dedicated to preserving Washington history and making it as freely accessible to the public as possible, a mission that will carry on at State Archives.

This news comes just days after Secretary of State Kim Wyman's Oct. 26 announcement that she will be resigning to accept an appointment to serve as the Senior Election Security Lead for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security. She will resign as Secretary of State effective Nov. 19.

On Nov. 10, Gov. Jay Inslee announced he has appointed state Sen. Steve Hobbs to serve as the interim Secretary of State until a special election in November 2022 determines a replacement to serve the final two years of Secretary Wyman's term. Sen. Hobbs, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Washington State National Guard, represents the 44th Legislative District in Snohomish County where he grew up. He will be sworn in as Secretary of State Nov. 22.

The Secretary of State is responsible for appointing the State Archivist. Stay tuned for news about our next State Archivist.
Washington State Archives is awarding $698,510 in grants to 37 government agencies statewide as part of the Local Records Grant Program for 2021-2022.

The Local Records Grant Program helps local-government agencies and entities upgrade their technological resources to improve their records retention, management, and public records request response processes... continue reading on the Secretary of State's blog, From Our Corner.
The fourth annual Washington State Archives haunted tour takes you on a spooky virtual trek through the dark stacks in the underbelly of the Archives Building. We've brought some infamous Washingtonians back from the dead to tell their stories, and you don't want to miss it!
Research Archivist Tracy Rebstock hosted this free genealogy webinar.

New records are added to our collections all the time. Updates to vital records mean more access to birth, death, marriage, and divorce collections.

Participants asked a bunch of questions to learn how to dig deeper into their family history!
In this free webinar, Senior Records Consultant Emily Venemon discussed the importance of public records and the role of the State Archives’ regional branch system in preserving public access.

Reference Archivist Jessica Jones (above) talked about the scope of archival government records held at the Puget Sound Regional Branch and how those records are used by researchers, and provided a look into how research requests are fulfilled.
Family Tree Magazine
Who said
that?
For the 21st time, Washington State Archives' Digital Archives and Washington State Library's Rural Heritage site have been named by Family Tree Magazine as two of the "75 Best State Genealogy Websites." The world-class staffs at Archives and Library have a consistent track record of making this list year after year.

Congrats for the recognition yet again! It's an honor to have all that hard work nationally acknowledged.
All Washington State Archives branches are open to the public.

Patrons must make an appointment prior to visiting, and wear a face covering during the visit.

Go here for more information, including how to contact each branch to set up an appointment.
"When I heard of the war, I had two hearts and have had two hearts ever since. The bad heart is a little larger than the good."

Which Washington tribal chief said that? (Hint: it's not the person in the photo.)

Last month's quote was from U.S. Representative for Washington's 3rd congressional district Jaime Herrera Beutler.