staking a land claim to homestead

im new to this, for a few years i have been looking for some property to buy and move with my wife and children to and make a life away for the stress of the big cities. the main issue is we have a pretty fixed income, but i have been doing some reading and came across some things about staking a land claim and how you can still do it on public land for $20 and claim up to 20 acres. since most of the info on how and where to go about it is dead links or partial information i've not managed to get far on my quest to a simpler life. if there is any in these forums who know how to go about this and where to find maps maybe of these public lands i could really use the help. also the area im looking to set up shop is preferably in Eastern Washington around the Okanogan county area.

thanks in advance for and help that you can offer and my email is deadgrass101@live.com

Welcome to permies Nick.

There is a discussion about the Homestead Act HERE.
While it is primarily about the SW desert region, there is a lot of discussion regarding all of the hoops you need to jump through to actually get the government to grant you the deed.

Good luck.