Indians, or Native Americans, have lived on the Olympic Peninsula for centuries. Their culture, before the white man came, was well developed and included art, dance, and architecture. Their food supply varied, but was mostly fish and berries or other things that they could gather. Their clothing and lodging was simple. They used twined cattails, spruce roots, wool from dogs they raised, split cedar bark, and other roots and grasses.

The Native Americans related to the land in a spiritual way. They believed in spirit transcendence and that their lives were planned by the deities. Before the white men came, the Native Americans lived gently upon the land, saving their violence for their fellow men.

The Indians moved from season to season, for good fishing and food sources. The land prospered for centuries, and then the white man came and depleted it in 300 years (uncool). There were many Indian tribes in the area. In the 1780s they numbered about 6,000, at least three times as many as there were in 1890 after the white settlers had come. Indian history was recorded by some of the early white settlers, who kept meticulous diaries.