The Cascadia movement refers to various different movements seeking greater autonomy for various conceptualizations of land adjacent to what is broadly referred to as the Pacific Northwest. This includes a nationalist independence movement seeking to establish Cascadian autonomy along the modern state lines of Oregon, Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia, as well as a Cascadian national identity surpassing identification with the state/territory or federal government. Proponents of this conceptualization of Cascadia also frequently advocate for the creation of a shared economic zone. There also exists a bioregionalist movement that aims to promote the recognition, decolonization and reinhabitation of the Cascadia bioregion, and the construction of bioregional mutual aid networks.
The movement is largely centered in the major cities of Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, although the bioregionalist movement also includes Idaho and the Alaskan Panhandle, along with small parts of California, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Yukon due to its broader bioregional scale. More conservative advocates for Cascadian federalism propose borders that include the land west of the crest of the Cascade Range, while some advocates propose borders as far north as Alaska and the Yukon region.
The main drivers of the movement include environmentalism, bioregionalism, privacy, civil liberties and freedom, increased regional integration, and local food networks and economies.
Historical background Before 1800, it is estimated that more than 500,000 people lived within the region in dozens of nations, such as the Tillamook, Chinook, Haida, Nootka, Nisga'a, and Tlingit. They lived and traded largely within the Cascadia Bioregion, using its extensive system of waterways for transport and pre-colonial trade. They spoke many different languages.
Indigenous sovereignty, the rights of nature, and decolonization remain a key point for many Cascadian and first nation organizers, who argue that indigenous self-determination cannot be gained legally under the framework of the United States constitution.
19th century
Oregon Country and Columbia District
An 1813 letter from American statesman Thomas Jefferson to fur tycoon John Jacob Astor congratulated Astor on the establishment of Fort Astoria (the coastal fur trade post of Astor's Pacific Fur Company) and described Fort Astoria as "the germ of a great, free, and independent empire on that side of our continent, and that liberty and self-government spreading from that as well as from this side, will insure their complete establishment over the whole. It would be an afflicting thing, indeed, should the English be able to break up the settlement. Their bigotry to the bastard liberty of their own country, and habitual hostility to every degree of freedom in any other, will induce the attempt." The same year of Jefferson's letter, Fort Astoria was sold to the British North West Company, which was based in Montreal.
John Quincy Adams agreed with Jefferson's views about Fort Astoria, and labeled the entire Northwest as "the empire of Astoria", although he also saw the whole continent as "destined by Divine Providence to be peopled by one nation." As late as the 1820s James Monroe and Thomas Hart Benton thought the region west of the Rockies would be an independent nation.
Elements among the region's white American population starting in the 1840s sought to form their own country, despite their small number. Oregon pioneer John McLoughlin was employed as the Chief Factor (regional administrator) by the Hudson's Bay Company for the Columbia District, administered from Fort Vancouver. McLoughlin was a significant force in the early history of the Oregon Country, and argued for its independence. In 1842 McLoughlin (through his lawyer) advocated an independent nation that would be free of the United States during debates at the Oregon Lyceum. This view won support at first and a resolution was adopted. When the first settlers of the Willamette Valley held a series of politically foundational meetings in 1843, called the Wolf Meetings, a majority voted to establish an independent republic. Action was postponed by George Abernethy of the Methodist Mission to wait on forming an independent country.
In May 1843, the settlers in the Oregon Country created their first western-style government as a Provisional Government. Several months later the Organic Laws of Oregon were drawn up to create a legislature, an executive committee, a judicial system, and a system of subscriptions to defray expenses. Members of the ultra-American party insisted that the final lines of the Organic Act would be "until such time as the USA extend their jurisdiction over us" to try to end the Oregon Territorial independence movement.The Organic Act in Grover, Lafayette. The Oregon Archives. Salem: A. Bush. 1853, pp. 26–35 George Abernethy was elected its first and only Provisional Governor. From the mid-1850s to the early 1860s, the territory explored ideas of secession, with pro-slavery Democrat Benjamin Stark laying claim to the idea, supporting the formation of a "Pacific Union", along with California politician William Gwinn.
British claims north of the Columbia River were ceded to the United States by the contentious Oregon Treaty of 1846. In 1860, there were three different statements from separate influential individuals on the creation of a "Pacific Republic".p. 310 Ellison, William Henry. A Self-Governing Dominion, California, 1849–1860. University of California Press, 1978
American Civil War When most of the slave states of the US seceded to form the Confederate States of America, some Oregon Territory settlers reacted to the instability of the union as another opportunity to seek independence. The leader of California's federal forces at the outset of the Civil War was himself a supporter of the Confederate cause, but that movement proved weaker than its opposition. For his role in convincing Californians to remain in the Union, Thomas Starr King was honored as one of the two "heroes of California" in the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection until 2009, when his statue was replaced by one of Ronald Reagan.
While independence movements during this time failed to take root, Adella M. Parker, president of the University of Washington Alumni Association, argued in her 1894 speech at the groundbreaking of the Seattle campus that the Pacific Northwest should build a new regional culture:
Secession
Cascadian federalists generally state that their political motivations deal mostly with political, economic, cultural, and ecological ties and the beliefs that the eastern federal governments are out of touch, slow to respond, and hinder provincial and state attempts at further bioregional integration. These connections go back to the Oregon Territory, and further back to the Oregon Country, the land most commonly associated with Cascadia, and the last time the region was treated as a single political unit, though administered by two countries. Some have asserted that political protest in the wake of the 2004 United States presidential election appears to be the primary reason for renewed separatist movements throughout states with substantial Democratic majorities, such as Washington and Oregon.
If an independent country, as measured only by the combination of present Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia statistics, Cascadia would be home to more than 19 million people, and would have an economy generating more than US$1.1 trillion worth of goods and services annually. This number would increase if portions of Northern California and Southern Alaska were also included. By land area, Cascadia would be the 18th largest country in the world, with a territory of 615,609 sq mi (1,594,420 km2), placing it ahead of Mongolia and behind Libya. Its population would be similar in size to that of Ecuador, Somalia, Cambodia, or the Netherlands.
Cascadian independence has gained popularity after the 2016 US presidential election, which resulted in the first presidency of Donald Trump, leading to a proposed secession referendum in Oregon. The individuals who put forward the proposal had withdrawn their petition by April 2020. Since Trump's first election, several new organizations in Cascadia have emerged. Initially, a series of groups were established to discuss the possibility of a Cascadia secession movement, bringing together hundreds of people in person. These groups later adopted the name Vote Cascadia.
Members of the Cascadian independence movement have declared May 18 as "Cascadia Day", in recognition of the lateral 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, with the week surrounding that date being "Cascadia Culture Week".
The Cascadia Party of British Columbia formed in 2016 and nominated two candidates, though neither was elected, in the 2017 British Columbia general election to advocate for sovereignty for the Cascadia bioregion. It did not run any candidates in the 2020 British Columbia general election. The party ran no candidates in the 2024 British Columbia general election and was deregistered by Elections BC on November 12, 2024.
In May 2021, the Cascadia Bioregional Party was established, advocating the independence of the Cascadian Bioregion from the United States and Canada, and several social, environmental, and economic reforms. It has since been suspended.
Bioregionalism
Cascadia is an idea rooted in bioregionalism. Cascadians believe that the Cascadia bioregion is a better representation of place, and the people and inhabitants living there, than the current United States or Canadian borders or state lines, which they feel arbitrarily divides the geography and communities living within it.
Bioregional congresses The early Cascadia movement was formed through a series of Cascadia "Bioregional Congresses" held in the early 1980s. They were a regional extension of the North American Bioregional Congresses (NABC), and were designed to alternate in tandem with continental and regionally focused meetings about social needs and governance. The first Cascadia Bioregional Congress was held in 1986 at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, followed by the Ish River Bioregional Confluence in 1987, and a Pacific Cascadia Bioregional Congress held in 1988. Each of these gatherings brought together about a hundred people as "delegates" for their watersheds.
Cascadia bioregion
The Cascadia bioregion is defined by the watersheds of the Fraser, Snake and Columbia River, and encompasses all or portions of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, British Columbia, and Alberta. It stretches from Cape Mendocino in the south, to Mt. St. Alias in the North, and as far east as the Yellowstone Caldera.
The delineation of a bioregion is defined through watersheds and ecoregions, with the belief that political boundaries should match ecological and cultural boundaries, and that culture stems from place. Current Cascadian bioregionalists use this framework as an argument for independence, autonomy and what they feel better represents the communities and area as an alternative to capitalism and the nation state.
The Cascadia Department of Bioregion seeks to build a bioregionalist network as an alternative to the nation-state structure.
Cascadian bioregional flag
The Cascadian bioregional flag, also known as the Doug flag, or simply the Cascadia flag, is a commonly accepted symbol for the Cascadia movement. It was designed in 1994 by Portland native Alexander Baretich. It is intended to be a direct representation of the bioregion, with green for the forests, blue for the waters, and white for the snow-capped mountains, with a Douglas Fir tree to symbolize the resilience of the region. Writing about the flag's symbolism Baretich said: