Slahal, also called the bone game, is one of many games played by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest. A team member held up their hands, each of which contained a small bone, and the members of the opposite team tried to guess if a marked bone was in the right or left hand. Slahal often also involved gambling between the teams. Stakes could be high, and the games might last for hours.

In this photo, taken sometime before Washington became a state in 1889, a group of Indigenous people play the bone game near their beached canoes. The two teams sit opposite one another in the sand. Some team members hold sticks which are used for scoring and for keeping up a rhythmic beat.

Caption on image: "Indians gambling, Puget Sound, W.T." ; "Washington Territory and Oregon Views."
Part of series entitled: "Washington Territory and Oregon Views"