Cascadia is the region that is often called the “Pacific Northwest” which includes Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Idaho, Northern California, Northwestern Wyoming, Western Montana and the panhandle of Alaska. Why not the “Pacific Northwest?” Well, because the Pacific Northwest is a geographic description based on an Atlantic centered map. By both the place (Cascadia) and the people (Cascadians) remaining as only a geographic description of a distant corner of Atlantic empires, then we do ourselves a great disservice. As Pacific Northwesterners we remain a nameless object or second thought to the power centers of Washington DC and Ottowa. By remaining the Pacific Northwest, we end up being an object much akin to a man of color being called “boy.” We have a name, we are Cascadians and we have a home and it is called Cascadia. The name Cascadia comes from the Cascade range which churn the sea of water (water vapor and clouds) to rain and snow and in turn gives our home (from the Pacific ocean to the western slopes of the Rockies) its moist fertile diversity of life. The name Cascades was given by David Douglas the Scottish botanist who was amazed at the waterfalls he encountered on his exploration in the area in the 1820s. In the local trade language that merged 27 native languages with English and French this rich bioregion was named Chinook Illahee. We as Cascadians also honor the name Chinook Illahee and that history that has often been omitted in the American and Canadian history text books. We embrace both the names of Cascadia and Chinook Ilahee as part of our history.