#Pacific Northwest indigenous

[huitzilinf-art]

Meet my Fakémon region's final stage for the water starter! Orkiwa, the Soul Guide Pokémon

[rebeccathenaturalist]

If you aren't following the news here in the Pacific Northwest, this is a very, very big deal. Our native salmon numbers have been plummeting over the past century and change. First it was due to overfishing by commercial canneries, then the dams went in and slowed the rivers down and blocked the salmons' migratory paths. More recently climate change is warming the water even more than the slower river flows have, and salmon can easily die of overheating in temperatures we would consider comfortable.

Removing the dams will allow the Klamath River and its tributaries to return to their natural states, making them more hospitable to salmon and other native wildlife (the reservoirs created by the dams were full of non-native fish stocked there over the years.) Not only will this help the salmon thrive, but it makes the entire ecosystem in the region more resilient. The nutrients that salmon bring back from their years in the ocean, stored within their flesh and bones, works its way through the surrounding forest and can be traced in plants several miles from the river.

This is also a victory for the Yurok, Karuk, and other indigenous people who have relied on the Klamath for many generations. The salmon aren't just a crucial source of food, but also deeply ingrained in indigenous cultures. It's a small step toward righting one of the many wrongs that indigenous people in the Americas have suffered for centuries.

[reasonsforhope]

For years, the people of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation watched over their waters and waited. They had spent nearly two decades working with Canada’s federal government to negotiate protections for Kitasu Bay, an area off the coast of British Columbia that was vulnerable to overfishing.

But the discussions never seemed to go anywhere. First, they broke down over pushback from the fishing industry, then over a planned oil tanker route directly through Kitasoo/Xai’xais waters.

“We were getting really frustrated with the federal government. They kept jumping onboard and then pulling out,” says Douglas Neasloss, the chief councillor and resource stewardship director of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation. “Meanwhile, we’d been involved in marine planning for 20 years – and we still had no protected areas.”

Instead, the nation watched as commercial overfishing decimated the fish populations its people had relied on for thousands of years.

Nestled on the west coast of Swindle Island, approximately 500km north of Vancouver, Kitasu Bay is home to a rich array of marine life: urchins and abalone populate the intertidal pools, salmon swim in the streams and halibut take shelter in the deep waters. In March, herring return to spawn in the eelgrass meadows and kelp forests, nourishing humpback whales, eagles, wolves and bears.

“Kitasu Bay is the most important area for the community – that’s where we get all of our food,” Neasloss says. “It’s one of the last areas where you still get a decent spawn of herring.”

So in December 2021, when the Department of Fisheries and Oceans withdrew from discussions once again, the nation decided to act. “My community basically said, ‘We’re tired of waiting. Let’s take it upon ourselves to do something about it,’” Neasloss says.

What they did was unilaterally declare the creation of a new marine protected area (MPA). In June 2022, the nation set aside 33.5 sq km near Laredo Sound as the new Gitdisdzu Lugyeks (Kitasu Bay) MPA – closing the waters of the bay to commercial and sport fishing.

It is a largely unprecedented move. While other marine protected areas in Canada fall under the protection of the federal government through the Oceans Act, Kitasu Bay is the first to be declared under Indigenous law, under the jurisdiction and authority of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation.

Pictured: "In some ways, I hope someone challenges us" … the Kitasoo/Xai’xais stewardship authority.

Although they did not wait for government approval, the Kitasoo did consult extensively: the declaration was accompanied by a draft management plan, finalised in October after three months of consultation with industry and community stakeholders. But the government did not provide feedback during that period, according to Neasloss, beyond an acknowledgment that it had received the plan...

Approximately 95% of British Columbia is unceded: most First Nations in the province of British Columbia never signed treaties giving up ownership of their lands and waters to the crown. This puts them in a unique position to assert their rights and title, according to Neasloss, who hopes other First Nations will be inspired to take a similarly proactive approach to conservation...

Collaboration remains the goal, and Neasloss points to a landmark agreement between the Haida nation and the government in 1988 to partner in conserving the Gwaii Haanas archipelago, despite both parties asserting their sovereignty over it. A similar deal was made in 2010 for the region’s 3,400 sq km Gwaii Haanas national marine conservation area.

“They found a way to work together, which is pretty exciting,” says Neasloss. “And I think there may be more Indigenous protected areas that are overlaid with something else.”

-via The Guardian, 5/3/23

[arthistoryanimalia]

For #InternationalWolfDay 🐺:

Bill Reid (Haida, Pacific NW Coast, 1920-1998)

Haida Wolf - Godj, 1979

Colour silkscreen on paper, 16.5 x 17 in.

[gwydpolls]

Time Travel Question 46: Early Modernish and Earlier

These Questions are the result of suggestions from the previous iteration.

This category may include suggestions made too late to fall into the correct earlier time grouping. Basically, I'd already moved on to human history, but I'd periodically get a pre-homin suggestion, hence the occasional random item waaay out of it's time period, rather than reopen the category.

In some cases a culture lasted a really long time and I grouped them by whether it was likely the later or earlier grouping made the most sense with the information I had. (Invention ofs tend to fall in an earlier grouping if it's still open. Ones that imply height of or just before something tend to get grouped later, but not always. Sometimes I'll split two different things from the same culture into different polls because they involve separate research goals or the like).

Please add new suggestions below if you have them for future consideration. All cultures and time periods welcome.

[fatehbaz]

But what is more upsetting about sugar is its atrocious history. To this day, working conditions in sugar are among the world’s worst. [...] For nearly five centuries, European planters made dizzying fortunes in sugar, made possible by enslaving workers in colonized lands. [...] Canadian investors, too, have reaped massive sugar profits. During the 1700s and 1800s, most Europeans, in what is now Canada, were implicated in the transatlantic sugar and slave trades. Not only did many consume the fruits of the enslaved sugar industry — including molasses and rum, in addition to sugar, as historian Afua Cooper writes — but some also invested in Caribbean trade, itself powered by enslaved sugar work.

Several Canadian banks — including the Imperial Bank of Commerce and the Bank of Nova Scotia (now known as Scotiabank) — have their origins in the West Indies, where their forerunners established themselves early in the 19th century. According to Cooper, the Bank of Nova Scotia exists “in the shadow of West Indian slavery.”

---

Western Canadians have also profited from unfree sugar labour. The famed western Canadian brand, Rogers Sugar, was established by American Benjamin Tingley Rogers who moved to Canada in 1889. Having grown up in the sugar industry, Rogers had both sugar connections and expertise.

Building a refinery in Vancouver, a city newly constructed [...], Rogers created a western Canadian sugar empire — one that sourced raw sugar cane through the Pacific, refined it in British Columbia and sold it throughout the Canadian West. Railway magnate William Cornelius Van Horne, together with noted investors [...], were among the ventures’ early shareholders. By the time of his death in 1918, Rogers had become “quite wealthy.” Now owned by Lantic Inc., Rogers Sugar remains a recognized Canadian brand. Less well known, though, is Rogers Sugar’s violent past. [...]

Refined predominantly in Vancouver, Rogers Sugar was made mostly from raw cane sugar. Since sugar cane cannot grow in Canada, B.C. Sugar sourced internationally [...]. B.C. Sugar also ventured into sugar cane plantation ownership: in Fiji between 1905 and 1922, and in the Dominican Republic between 1944 and 1955. Notably, it purchased the latter from the Bank of Nova Scotia. In both cases, workers reported horrendous conditions. The pay was so low and the work was so menial in the Dominican Republic that, as historian Catherine C. Legrand points out, workers left the plantation whenever they could.

---

In Fiji between 1905 and 1920, B.C. Sugar employed indentured workers from India who migrated to the colony on five-year contracts. [...] Forced into hard physical labour with little time for sleep, indentured workers at B.C. Sugar’s Fiji plantation endured sickness, confinement, hunger, abuse, injuries, whippings, beatings and more [...]. When Fiji de-criminalized the desertion of indenture contracts in 1916, it is little wonder that hundreds of workers left the colony’s sugar plantations. [...]

Canadian sugar was built upon violence, including upon enslaved and indentured labour.

---

All text above by: Donica Belisle. “Uncovering the violent history of the Canadian sugar industry.” The Conversation. 16 March 2023. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Images and captions are shown unaltered as they originally appear published with Belisle’s article. Presented here for commentary, teaching, criticism purposes.]

[imaginarianisms]

northern architecture of the first men prior to the creation of castles & the wall.

[tellingittash]

Religious Studies Term Of The Day: Coast Salish

[unityrain24]

oh interesting a found a salish cookbook pdf online. not all of the recipes seem traditional bc they have ingredients added that aren't native to the pnw, but still an interesting thing to look through!!

[shadeslayer]

Killer Whale Pod of Many Nations (2006) by Odin Lonning (Tlingit) carved cedar with acrylic

The seven-foot-long red cedar carving of five killer whales in five Northwest Coast Native art styles is a tribute to endangered orcas and Coastal tribes from Puget Sound to Alaska.

The Tlingit whale denotes how a crest originates in the story of Natsiclané, or Creation of the Killer Whale. The Haida whale embodies two stories about the Raven-Finned Killer Whale and the adventures of Nanasimgit and His Wife. The Nuu-chah-nulth whale signifies the timeless wolf-killer whale connection in their culture and commemorates Tsux’iit (Luna).

The Kwakwaka’wakw whale celebrates the triumphant reunion of Keetla (Springer) with her pod in Namgis First Nation territory in British Columbia. A vocal delegation of “Springer’s Peeps” cheered enthusiastically for this whale, which shows Springer spyhopping. The Coast Salish whale pays homage to the Indigenous peoples and Southern Resident orcas of the Salish Sea.

Killer Whale Pod of Many Nations: “Carving for a Greater Cause” by Ann Stateler, for WHULJ, The Newsletter of the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society, Winter 2007 (PDF here)

This piece was made possible by a Native Arts grant from the Potlatch Fund.

On display at the Seattle Aquarium, in the Puget Sound Orcas Family Activity Center Photograph 1 by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid Photograph 2 by Bryan Lor / Adventures of BL

[fixomnia-scribble]

Happy reopening, MoA! I wish I could cut out of work early and head over for the event tonight.

(Kwakwaka'wakw mask, originally from Bella Bella)

The face that every Vancouver-raised child remembers from Field Trip Days...

[bumblebeeappletree]

Join special guest Elder and Medicine Woman Jeri Sparrow of the Musqueam First Nation as we set out to explore the traditional knowledge and ancestral art of this beautiful and rich dye. Alder bark (Alnus rubra) is known as an ancient traditional medicine in the Pacific Northwest, used as a tea to help strengthen the lungs and fortify the body. Alder trees (Alnus genus) are also commonly found throughout North America, Asia and Europe.

Indigenous oral history includes using alder bark to achieve reds for weaving designs in cedar basketry, mats, clothing, regalia and other items. Yet what is involved in drawing out the colour of the inner bark? Here we cover both dyeing plant (cedar bark) and animal (wool) fiber as we harvest, process and use the power of the sun to turn bright orange to rich reds. Note: while we use a blender and washing soda, original methods would likely have involved chewing the bark up and stale urine for the necessary pH boost.

Patreon: / wildcraftdyeing

Don't forget to lichen subscribe to my channel for more videos on how to forage and naturally dye:

/ @wildcraftdyeing

Note: caramel coloured yarn in the video was achieved with a premordant of alum (aluminium potassium sulfate), while the purply brown was achieved with a premordant of iron. Yarn for this video was donated in part by Urban Yarns (urbanyarns.com). Much appreciated!

For more in-depth discussion on mordanting, check out my video on dyeing with acorns:

• How to Naturally Dye w...

New to dyeing? Start with this playlist:

• New to Dyeing? Start h...

Our website: Wildcraftdyeing.com

Facebook: Wildcraft Dyeing

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I'm a wildlife ecologist who specializes in management and conservation of endangered species. I'm passionate about exploring the natural world and connecting people with nature through fiber and science. Please never cook using any of your dye equipment and always store your plants, lichens and mushrooms safely.Warning: please use good ventilation when dyeing with this plant as it can be toxic.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

For those following the Chinook Indian Nation's work toward regaining federal recognition, this is an important endorsement. I posted a while back about a petition for the state of Washington to give the now-closed Naselle Youth Camp to the Chinook. The NYC is on unceded Chinook land, and specifically the portion of land the Chinook asked to retain almost two centuries ago as part of an unfulfilled treaty with the U.S. government.

A state task force formed to determine the fate of the NYC has officially recommended the NYC be given to the Chinook Indian Nation. Not only would this put the facility into the hands of people who will make excellent use of it, but the Chinook have also stated their intention to restore the on-site wastewater treatment facility and salmon hatchery. The former would additionally be a boon to the entirety of Pacific County, which currently ships its wastewater all the way to Centralia, WA, over 100 miles away from southern portions of the county.

If the NYC is indeed given to the Chinook, this will be an important statement that can be used to pressure the U.S. government to restore their federal recognition. To find out ways you can help the Chinook in this effort, please visit ChinookJustice.org.

[nancydrewwouldnever]

Haida or Tsimshian Artist, Rattle, ca. 1850, maple wood and leather (Art Museum, Portland [inv. 55.256])

[arthistoryanimalia]

For #WorldOrcaDay:

Robert E. Sebastian (Gitxsan, b.1952)

The Herd - Killer Whale, 1985

silkscreen, #81/100, 14 7/8 x 21 3/4 in. (37.78 x 55.25 cm)

[anniekoh]

indigenous treaty rights

Promised Land (2016) is an award-winning social justice documentary that follows two tribes in the Pacific Northwest: the Duwamish and the Chinook, as they fight for the restoration of treaty rights they've long been denied. In following their story, the film examines a larger problem in the way that the government and society still looks at tribal sovereignty.

"The film is about federal recognition, yes, but on a deeper level it’s about how to be an Indian in the modern world, how to fight even if you’re an elderly lady or a terminally ill man, how to take joy from the fight because of the friends you make, and most importantly, how to face death bravely and with honor, recognizing it as a transition and not an end. The U.S. will someday crumble into dust and be forgotten like all other empires. But cultures like the Chinook and the Duwamish will endure indefinitely, as long as there are those who love their ancestors and honor them with good work." - Indian Country Today