The Puget Sound region looks much different today than it did when its sole inhabitants and caretakers were Indigenous people. With westward expansion, Seattle transformed into a frontier town, then a port city, and most recently into a tech hub. The land and its people have shifted with each boom and bust cycle, weaving a complex story of identity.

Join KCTS 9’s Knute Berger, Dr. Quintard Taylor (Professor Emeritus of History at UW), Margaret O’Mara (historian and contributing New York Times opinion writer) and Josephine Ensign (UW Professor of Nursing focused on health policy), as we explore our region’s “roots” and how, like in our forests, the remains of “old growth” often provide the foundation and energy for new life.

We’ll celebrate our greatest feats and biggest losses, and take a hard look at a tragic legacy of exclusion that has scarred us. If we understand our roots better today, perhaps we can do better in the future.