The Puyallup Tribe and the Salmon Nations

In our religion, we have an obligation to protect our brothers and sisters, the nations of salmon, and so it was a religious conviction, as well as a need for social and economic change.  
 – Ramona Bennett, recounting the story of the September, 1970, fishing camp Puyallup Tribal members set up beside the river, culminating in a police attack. ( Lynda Mapes, “Fish-camp Raid Etched in State History,” Seattle Times, Sept. 6, 2010)

    Five people from the Puyallup Tribe of Indians will come to Vashon to talk about their tribe’s ancient right to fish for the salmon who return each year from the Pacific Ocean through Puget Sound and into the waters of the Puyallup River. Ramona Bennett, Ray McCloud, David Duenas, Brandon Reynon, and Nicole Barandon will speak at the Land Trust Building at 4pm on Saturday, March 7, adding their comments during a showing of Carol Burns’ film “As Long as the Rivers Run” and conducting a discussion afterward.  The documentary film shows footage of fish-ins during 1968-1970, including a violent confrontation beside the Puyallup River in September 1970 when a camp of native fishing families was attacked by police. Over 70 people were arrested.

Some of the Puyallup presenters coming on Saturday had been active participants in the prolonged effort to secure recognition from the State of Washington of their right to fish, and they were present at that fish camp.  In 1854, the Treaty of Medicine Creek had specified that although they were giving up most of their ownership rights to the lands of the south Sound area, they were retaining  their ancient right to catch fish at all their “usual and accustomed grounds and stations… in common with all citizens of the Territory.”  By the middle of the twentieth century, however, salmon runs had been devastated by habitat degradation and loss due to logging, farming, development, over-fishing, and pollution. This prompted the State of Washington to impose strict limits on fishing, with no allowance for tribal treaty rights. The matter was settled by the Boldt Decision of 1974, which interpreted the treaty to mean that the tribes were entitled to half of the fish harvested each year.

 The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission was set up by 20 northwest tribes to enable them to combine their resources as they began to co-manage the fisheries with the State of Washington.  Joint responsibility for shellfish was added in 1994 with a federal court ruling by Judge Rafeedie, and game such as deer and elk are now covered as well. Through the NWIFC, the tribes share expertise, information, and staff to run hatcheries, monitor habitat issues, perform quantitative analyses, and develop a unified voice for working with partner organizations and the federal government.

The Boldt Decision was 41 years ago. There have been intensive efforts to turn salmon declines around. Have they worked?  Not according to the most recent “State of Our Watersheds” report, from 2012, on the NWIFC website:
Despite massive harvest reductions, strategic use of hatcheries and a huge financial investment in habitat restoration efforts over the past 40 years, the State of Our Watersheds report shows that we are failing to turn the tide on salmon recovery.

Culverts are one big issue currently.  Over 1,500 state road culverts in western Washington block access for spawning salmon to hundreds of miles of stream bed. State agencies have estimated that every dollar spent fixing the culverts would generate four dollars worth of additional salmon production. Although a federal court in 2007 ordered the state to repair culverts on state highways, the work has proceeded so slowly that more habitat is lost to new blockages than is regained through replacements of old culverts! In 2013 a federal judge issued a ruling requiring the state to complete repairs of the blocking culverts within 17 years, but subsequent state budgets have not allocated adequate funding to put us on track to reach this goal.

“The State of Our Watersheds” report views rapid population increase as the major cause of increasing problems for western Washington salmon.  The population pressure leads to converting forested areas to buildings, homes, and lawns, with more impervious surfaces in roads and shopping centers. Development results in more wastewater, more septic systems, more toxins from yards and motorized equipment, more fertilizers and pesticides from gardens, and worsening water quality in streams.

Meanwhile the Lummi Nation is fighting a coal export terminal.  A recently released vessel traffic study predicts that if SSA Marine builds its proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point, it will increase the Lummi fishing disruption by 76 percent in the Cherry Point subarea and 19 percent in the (adjacent) Saddlebag subarea.  It will also add nearly 500 of the world’s largest bulk carriers into the area waters. The loss of sheer physical space in the Lummi fishery would likely be accompanied by damaging coal dust pollution and loss of shoreline habitat.

It is traditional for tribes to observe a First Salmon Ceremony at the beginning of each fishing season.  The first salmon caught is treated with great respect. It is ceremonially placed on green cedar branches, cooked, and shared among all the people present with songs and prayers of welcome and thanks. The cleaned bones are returned to the river, where they are believed to return to the salmon villages out in the Salish Sea and the ocean and report on the respectful activities of the humans, so that other fish will want to come up the river. The ceremony renews a bond between humans and the salmon nation. Perhaps in the present time, as the tribes struggle to restore salmon habitat, they are also reminding all of us that the gift of salmon is not free, but requires care and respect. As they model this behavior, they are renewing their own ancient identity as people of the salmon.

The March 7 event, “As Long as the Rivers Run,” is the last of a series of special programs associated with the Heritage Museum’s special exhibit, “Vashon Island’s Native People: Navigating Seas of Change.” This free exhibit may be seen Wednesdays through Sundays, 1pm to 4pm, through March 15. The Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association and Humanities Washington are the primary sponsors of the fishing rights program, along with the exhibit sponsors: 4Culture, Puget Sound Energy, DIG, Beth de Groen, Rick’s Diagnostic & Repair Service, The Hardware Store Restaurant, John L. Scott Real Estate, and the Northwest School of Animal Massage.