Cathlapotle Plankhouse is located on the Ridgefield Natural Wildlife Refuge in Washington State. Sustainable Today visited the plankhouse during Bird Fest. The annual event that invites the public to visit and come in close contact the members of the Chinook tribe. This culture inhabited the Columbia River Basin and up and down the Oregon and Washington coasts for several thousand years before being revealed to the western world by Traders in the late 1700’s. The plankhouse is a replica of the dwellings typical of the tribe and is filled with art, tools, instruments and crafts that were made by tribal members. The program looks into the lifestyles and traditions that remain relevant to the modern world and the efforts by the tribe and the Friends of the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge to preserve and perpetuate their knowledge.