Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
identity. The total Native American population of Oregon and Washington is around
194,000 (or 1.8% of the population).
In Canada, tribal bands control small tracts of land called reserves (though less than
half of the country's native peoples actually inhabit these lands). First Nations inhabit-
ants of British Columbia number roughly 196,000 (about 5% of BC's population).
THE SPORTING LIFE
Outdoor-loving Pacific Northwesterners cherish their sports, whether they're play-
ers themselves or just watching their favorite teams go at it.
The Pacific Northwest's only National Football League (NFL) franchise is the
Seattle Seahawks, owned by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen (who also owns the
Portland Trail Blazers and part of the Seattle Sounders). They played their first
game in 1976 but have only made it to the Super Bowl once - in 2006. The Americ-
an football regular season runs from September to December.
Generating nearly as much enthusiasm are contests between university teams,
most notably the University of Washington Huskies, the Washington State
University Cougars, the University of Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State
University Beavers. The college football season runs from September to February.
Vancouver is home to the Canadian Football League's (CFL) BC Lions, who have
won the Grey Cup six times, most recently in 2011 against the Winnipeg Blue
Bombers. The season runs from June to November.
The Seattle Mariners are the region's only Major League Baseball (MLB) team.
Minor league baseball has its fans as well, and is played by teams that include the
Vancouver Canadians, Spokane Indians and Eugene Emeralds. Baseball season
runs from April to October.
Portland's Trail Blazers are currently the region's only National Basketball Asso-
ciation (NBA) basketball team; the season runs from late October through mid-
April. Seattle's professional women's basketball team is the WNBA's Seattle Storm;
the city hasn't had a professional men's basketball team since the Supersonics
moved to Oklahoma in 2008.
Visiting Vancouver during the October-to-April hockey season? Catch Canada's
favorite sport, pastime and religion. The National Hockey League's (NHL) Van-
couver Canucks have never won the Stanley Cup, but they came close a few times,
most recently in 2011. Seattle's Thunderbirds and Portland's Winter Hawks are a
couple of the region's other ice-hockey teams.
Soccer isn't a major spectator sport in the US, but the United Soccer League
(USL) does have its fervent fans. The Seattle Sounders, the Portland Timbers and
the Vancouver Whitecaps are the Pacific Northwest's teams, kicking it from March
to October.
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