It’s All About the Humans!

Seattle's Foundations of Human Activity

Some scientists speculate that humans began to inhabit the North American continent about 12,000 years ago.[1]

Before European settlement, peoples of several tribes and bands inhabited the Seattle/Puget Sound area. The Suquamish and Duwamish tribes were the most populous.

Chief Seattle (or Sealth) was a hereditary leader of the Suquamish Tribe. He was born around 1786 and died on June 7, 1866. Seattle is remembered for accommodating the early Anglo-European settlers of Alki Point (later West Seattle), and as a negotiator/peacemaker. This is why the city was named after this great Native leader.[2]

Nowadays Seattle is more diverse ethnically but not as much as other major U.S. cities…

Nearly three quarters of Seattleites are white.
People of Asian descent comprise Seattle's second largest racial group.
Thirteen percent of Seattleites selected Asian to identify themselves in the 2000 census.

Comparatively, in the United States, 3.6 percent of the population is of Asian descent and another 0.6 percent of the population identified themselves as at least two races including Asian.[3]

Seattle is located on an area if primary growth. Despite this, the metropolitan area population growth fell to 13 percent in the 2000s compared to 19 percent growth in the 1990s. Nonetheless, the historical core municipality of Seattle grew 8 percent between 2000 and 2010 (from 563,000 to 608,000), while the suburbs grew 14 percent. The suburbs attracted 89 percent of the metropolitan population growth.[4]

Seattle is ranked the 15^th largest city in the United States in 2000.[5]

The predominant religion in the Seattle metropolitan area is Christianity, but because of Seattle’s diverse communities other practiced religions are Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Islam. This is because of the area’s abundant Asian population.[6]

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[1] Stephen S. Birdsall, Eugene J. Palka, Jon C. Malinowski, and Margo L. Price, Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada 7^th Edition (Wiley, 2008), 44.

[2] “Suquamish Indian Tribe,” accessed March 17, 2011, http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1576.html

[3] “Seattle’s Population & Demographics,” last modified January 15, 2005, http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Research/Population_Demographics/Prior_Censuses/1900-2000_Population_Housing_Trends/DPDS_007030.asp.

[4] Wendell Cox, “Slowing Growth Rates & Convergence,” New Geography, February 24, 2011, accessed March 17, 2011, http://www.newgeography.com/content/002073-seattle-denver-portland-slowing-growth-rates-convergence.

[5] Birdsall, Palka, Malinowski, and Price, Landscapes of the U.S. and Canada, 56.

[6] “Religion in Seattle,” last modified 2008, http://www.mapsofworld.com/cities/usa/seattle/religion.html.