Although I’ve never been a big believer in the Cascade Curtain, more than a decade in Olympia has taught me that there is a certain West Side bias that results in somewhat rare recognition, let alone praise, for things Eastern Washington does right.

So it was a pleasant surprise last week, when debate over a bill to restrict the use of Native American names and images for high school sports teams had a thumbs-up to Spokane for how it dealt with a thorny national issue.

“A good example of what has been done in Washington has been done in Spokane,” said Rep. Debra Lekanoff, a Democrat from Bow and the only Native American currently serving in the House. The Spokane Tribe, the community and the Spokane Indians baseball team worked together on a way for the team to honor the tribe, with whom it shares a name, she said.

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