The Lummi have been telling stories for thousands of years. "I am a Lummi tribal member and it's been taught to me that we are the lactamish people. We are survivors of the flood," Lisa says. The Lummi people are born storytellers and in many ways natural environmentalists. As Lummi … [Read more...]
Whale People: Protectors of the Sea
The short film from the Lummi partnership with The Natural History Museum for the exhibition "Whale People: Protectors of the Sea" has won an award in three categories at the Best Shorts Competition and the film is also an official selection at the Cannes International Film Festival, American … [Read more...]
Removing Lower Snake River Dams to Protect Salmon and Orcas
May 12, 2020, 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - 04:00pm - Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - 05:00pm What: “Removing Lower Snake River Dams to Protect Salmon and Orcas” video conference When: May 12, 2020, 4-5 p.m. PST Who: Columbia Riverkeeper Senior Attorney Miles Johnson sets the record … [Read more...]
Bristol Bay organizations argue EPA lawsuit should move ahead
The Defense Alliance is comprised of Bristol Bay Native Association, United Tribes of Bristol Bay, Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, Bristol Bay Reserve Association and Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation. These Bristol Bay Tribal and fishing organizations are working … [Read more...]
TO SHARE OR NOT TO SHARE?
“It’s both a risk and an opportunity for indigenous peoples,” said Preston Hardison, policy analyst at the Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources Treaty Rights Office in Washington state. According to Hardison, many elders feel that they’d like to help the world heal, but they want their knowledge to be … [Read more...]
How Native Tribes Are Taking the Lead on Planning for Climate Change
Across North America, other indigenous communities are stepping up to formulate and enact climate action plans to protect their way of life. In 2019, the Karuk tribe of northern California released its climate adaptation plan with a recommendation to return to prescribed burning, an old idea that … [Read more...]
Feds Reject Calls To Remove 4 Snake River Dams, A Plan Aimed At Saving Salmon
The Snake River dams in Washington would stay in place under the federal government’s preferred plan for the Columbia River System. On Friday federal agencies released a draft plan to manage the 14 dams in the Columbia River System, including the four Lower Snake River dams. The U.S. Army Corps … [Read more...]
Terry Mitchell: Indigenous civil rights blockades should be met with a new diplomacy, not violence
Canada is at a critical crossroads. The Wet’suwet’en conflict brings us to a deciding moment in Canada, one that will shape the future of the nation. The divisive conflict is about land, Indigenous law, human rights and the nature of civil disobedience. . . . Indigenous resistance to … [Read more...]
‘Our hearts bled’: Covering the Wet’suwet’en crisis in Canada
Alberta, Canada - The past month has been strained, emotional, tense. Covering the Wet'suwet'en crisis as an Indigenous journalist has been a challenge. In British Columbia, the hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en tribe are opposing the construction of a natural gas pipeline through their … [Read more...]
Anti-Pipeline Protests Shut Down Canadian Rail Networks
Anti-pipeline protests have shut down major rail networks across Canada as indigenous rights and environmental activists act in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en people of British Columbia, who are fighting to keep a natural gas pipeline off their land. Canadian National Railway (CN) said … [Read more...]
‘The border is this imaginary line’: why Americans are fighting mining in B.C.’s ‘Doughnut Hole’
Christopher Pollon / January 8, 2020 / The Narwhal Logging permits in the Skagit River headwaters will no longer be issued by the B.C. government but mining exploration is causing friction with Americans downstream. We travelled the river to meet the people fighting an Imperial Metals … [Read more...]
After a century of suppression, Native languages are being revived in Washington schools
by Manola Secaira / February 11, 2020 / Crosscut Throughout the state, tribal elders and educators are bringing Salish and other languages to youth. Across the state, other tribes have been working diligently on language revival projects, including in public schools, according to Patty … [Read more...]
Prize-winning artists embark on a new chapter on Vashon
Couple aims to subvert work of traditional museums, promote environmental justice, climate concerns. By Elizabeth Shepherd Friday, February 14, 2020 9:22am, Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber After a year of living quietly on Vashon, Beka Economopoulos and Jason Jones have a spotlight trained on … [Read more...]
“Back to the River”
"Long as the River Runs" was a film that was offered at Justice Summit in October of 2019 by Salmon Defense (founded by Billy Frank, Jr.). There is now a companion film: From our collection of extensive interviews with the people involved in the Fishing Wars plus added interviews, we compiled an … [Read more...]
Canada police begin clearing Wet’suwet’en land defender camps
by Jillian Kestler-D'Amours, Aljazeera Canada's federal police force (RCMP) has moved in to clear an Indigenous camp in an area of northern British Columbia (BC) slated for pipeline construction, Indigenous land defenders said, a move that has been condemned by rights groups. . . … [Read more...]
Recreation over preservation? Residents and Natives worry the San Juan Islands could be ‘loved to death’
The federal government helped make the islands a national monument. But locals worry a Trump-era focus on making public lands productive could be their undoing. For at least 10,000 years, this cluster of 450 green-on-gray islands has drawn Native people who followed the salmon and seasons. In … [Read more...]
Cooke Aquaculture gets approval from state wildlife agency to farm steelhead in Puget Sound
“Disappointed is an understatement,” Brian Cladoosby, chairman of the Swinomish Tribe, said of the state’s decision. “Our salmon and steelhead are on the brink. Potentially introducing more diseases or genetic defects into our native steelhead is very disappointing.” Cladoosby said “dire … [Read more...]
Swartz Bay ferry terminal reopens after pipeline protesters delay sailings
The Swartz Bay ferry terminal near Victoria has reopened after a protest blocked access and delayed a number of sailings early Monday. The demonstration began before dawn, delaying 7 a.m. crossings from Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen for more than an hour. The sailing from Tsawwassen eventually left … [Read more...]
Field Studies Continue for Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is continuing field studies in December 2019 as part of ongoing environmental and technical work for the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project. According to the Port, the purpose of these studies is to determine the physical conditions (e.g., temperature and … [Read more...]
Energy Storage Project On Upper Columbia Brings Jobs — And Concerns From Colville Tribes
BY Courtney Flatt, DEC 23, 2019 at 10:48 AM Northwest News Network A new energy storage project is in the works near eastern Washington’s Chief Joseph Dam on the Columbia River. The project is expected to bring construction jobs to the region. But the nearby Confederated Tribes of the Colville … [Read more...]