Salmon Nation

Some readers of this blog may be aware of efforts by “American” tribes to restore salmon in a “Canadian” river. I wrote about this in A River Captured . For me, it all began in 2012, when I drove south from Nelson, B.C. to Spokane, WA to attend a “Salmon Reintroduction Workshop.” I could not have predicted it would be an historic event.

At lunch, I found one table buzzing with excitement. I set my plate at an empty spot and the person next to me explained. They had just confirmed that fish passage above Grand Coulee Dam was possible.

Ocean salmon thrived in the upper Columbia for millions of years, until Grand Coulee blocked the fish in 1941. Since then, U.S. tribes have hoped and worked for the return of the fish.

In the 1990s, five of them founded the Upper Columbia United Tribes. UCUT has focussed tireless energy, research and millions of dollars on returning salmon to upstream spawning areas in Canada. Their mission has always been guided by a simple principle: One River, for the Benefit of All.

Never once have I heard a single person from any of these five tribes ever say they don’t think American money should be helping fish return to Canadian water. Why not? Because they are working for Salmon Nation.

Recently, the Premier of British Columbia, David Eby, has demonstrated that he does not work for Salmon Nation. He claims that government support needs to be for “Canadian” tribes only. This is a thinly-veiled attack on the “American” Sinixt people, once declared extinct in Canada in 1956. The “Canadian” Okanagan Nation Alliance have announced that the Sinixt are part of them.

None of this will work. Like the salmon, the Indignous people are moving upstream.

Meanwhile, tagged salmon from U.S. hatcheries keep teaching UCUT more about their movement and adaptation. They head happily upstream, oblivious to colonial boundaries between countries. Some have even spawned offspring. Does that make the next generation Canadian, or American?

I know, I know. It’s a tough time to be talking about blurring that boundary between Canada and the U.S. But it’s also good time to remind ourselves that we shouldn’t judge one harmful thing or person or policy to the exclusion of something for the benefit of all. Elbows up, for sure. But arms open, too, for fish and Indigenous rights.

Premier Eby, you are not much different from a hydro-power dam in human form. Thankfully, the wily salmon have proven themselves to be smarter and more courageous than any modern politician…..or dam, for that matter.

Hang on for the ride, everyone! Walls are coming down. And in the meantime, check out this informative reel about the great river of the west by a talented Indigenous historian.