Vancouver, Whistler & Vancouver Island - Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - page 859

plified by the 'Republic of Cascadia' movement, which calls for Oregon, Washington
and British Columbia to secede from the US and Canada. (Currently, however, there's no
danger of this happening.) And let's not forget gays and lesbians, who are widely accep-
ted and especially attracted to the Northwest's liberal cities. Girls, forget San Francisco -
lesbians love Portland.
However, not everything is perfect in paradise; in big cities, urban sprawl and rising
real-estate prices are a problem. And despite the large percentage of bicycle commuters,
as well as great public-transportation systems, freeways get jammed during rush hour.
Unemployment continues to be a big problem, as more and more people continue to be
attracted to the region. Northwesterners are an adaptable lot, however. Like their ancest-
ors who came over the Oregon Trail (or from California, the East Coast or Hong Kong),
they've learned to change with the times - even as they voice their opinions and com-
plain the whole way.
Gay people living in the Pacific Northwest have more rights than in most other states
and countries. In Washington and Canada same-sex marriage is legal, while Oregon re-
cognizes same-sex domestic partnerships.
Multiculturalism
Combined, the current population of Oregon and Washington is 10.8 million, which
amounts to about 3.5% of the total US population. By far the greatest concentrations of
people huddle in Washington's Puget Sound area and Oregon's Willamette Valley. Ore-
gon and Washington are among the fastest-growing states in the USA.
With a population of nearly 4.5 million, British Columbia is the third-most populous
Canadian province, partly due to immigration largely from Hong Kong and to movement
within Canada. The greater Vancouver area is home to over half those people.
Most US Northwesterners are Caucasian; minority groups include Latinos, Asians and
African Americans. British Columbia, while largely founded by British settlers, has a
much more racially mixed population. Over 40% of Vancouver's population is made up
of minority groups, most with an Asian background.
The US government recognizes over three dozen Pacific Northwestern Native Americ-
an tribes, for whom reservations or trust lands have been set aside. A number of other
Native American groups in the region have no federally recognized status - without
which they are ineligible for government assistance to support tribal schools and cultural
centers. Moreover, without legal recognition, it is difficult for tribes to maintain cultural