For people that live along the northwestern coast of the United States and Canada - from Oregon to Alaska - salmon are an iconic species. And for the myriad First Nations who have called these lands home for time immemorial they are not just animals but an integral part of their culture, existence and creation stories.
That is why it is so exciting as Sonal Gupta writes “[F]or the first time in over 86 years, two sockeye salmon made history by surviving to make the journey partway to their home waters in the upper Columbia River. The pair, released as tiny fry in British Columbia two years ago, are a glimmer of hope for the Indigenous-led push to bring salmon back to their ancestral waters, and they are calling on governments to take immediate action to support the work.”
The Bringing the Salmon Home Initiative — led by the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan nations with BC and Canada — aims to restore salmon runs cut off by the Grand Coulee Dam in 1939. Recently, over 22,000 juvenile sockeye were released in the upper Columbia to test whether they could navigate dams, reach the ocean, and return. Two survived; one was detected close to 800km upstream near Wells Dam in Washington, and the second made it near Rocky Reach Dam which is 60km downstream of Wells Dam.
The nations are seeking government support to add fish passage at Canadian hydroelectric dams, which currently block salmon from 40% of the Columbia River’s Canadian headwaters. Hopefully the three Okanagan First Nations can garner financial support from the levels of government to help bring salmon back to the Columbia River.
Mark Thomas of Secwépemc Nation and chair of the Bringing the Salmon Home executive working group, said “[S]almon returning today show what is possible when Indigenous communities lead. We’ve proven what’s possible when salmon are given a chance… The fish have finally made it home — it’s time we make sure they can stay."