There are a lot of little moments and details to love in this story. Like this one:
"Halibut, salmon, seals and whales sustained them — an entire nation — and made them wealthy."
Most non-Native writers describe past and present Natives in terms of 'survival,' even though prior to colonization, many of our nations were wealthy. Woolington, though she's non-Native, eschews that pitfall.
The same sentence also effortlessly evokes the abundance of sea life under Makah care.