SENATE RESOLUTION

                         1997-8622

By Senators Brown, West, Jacobsen, Spanel, McCaslin, Fraser, Finkbeiner and Kohl

     WHEREAS, The state of Washington has a rich cultural heritage; and

     WHEREAS, The state of Washington recognizes in RCW 27.34.010 "that those articles and properties which illustrate the history of the state of Washington should be maintained and preserved for the use and benefit of the people of the state"; and

     WHEREAS, The Eastern Washington State Historical Society is one of the two state historical societies designated as trustees of the state for the above purposes; and

     WHEREAS, The Eastern Washington State Historical Society in Spokane has been actively collecting, preserving, and interpreting that rich heritage for eighty-one years, since 1916, for the people of eastern Washington and the Inland Northwest; and

     WHEREAS, The Eastern Washington State Historical Society and its Cheney Cowles Museum has one of the finest and largest material culture collections anywhere in the United States relating to the American Indian; and

     WHEREAS, The Eastern Washington State Historical Society is recognized as a state agency abiding by the Centennial Accord with respect to working in cooperation with the recognized tribes of the state of Washington and the Inland Northwest; and

     WHEREAS, The presentation of arts and heritage are major components of the state's educational system, economic well-being, and tourism appeal; and

     WHEREAS, The Eastern Washington State Historical Society has mounted an exhibition in the Secretary of State's Office through March 14, 1997, of American Indian art from its permanent collection that features the use of patriotic symbolism;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate hereby recognize and celebrate the educational, cultural, and economic enrichment that the Eastern Washington State Historical Society and the Cheney Cowles Museum bring to Washington state residents and visitors every year.