A member of the Swinomish tribe returns the filleted carcass of a salmon to the water as way of giving thanks to the creator for abundant natural resources. Salmon were once so plentiful in the Pacific Northwest that they could be harvested year round.
credit:
Saskia de Melker
Native Americans have depended on an array of plants and animals for generations. These "first foods" have cultural and spiritual significance in addition to nutritional value. Changes in the climate are increasing threats to the foods.
credit:
Saskia de Melker
Swinomish tribal member Eric Day leads a procession during the tribe's salmon ceremony earlier this summer. Each year Pacific Northwest tribes gather to celebrate the return of salmon runs and pray for the protection of fishermen.
credit:
Michael Werner
Billy Frank, Jr., known for his decades of defending Washington tribes' treaty rights, fears the rights will be worthless as overfishing, dams and climate change take their toll on the habitats salmon need to survive.
credit:
Katie Campbell
The Swinomish have inhabited the land on the banks of Puget Sound for centuries. Fifteen percent of their land lies at or barely above sea level -- including their only agricultural land, their economic zones, and their shellfish beds.
credit:
Michael Werner
WA tribes signed treaties more than a century ago retaining the right to fish, hunt, and gather in traditional sites off their reservations. The 1974 Boldt Decision upheld those treaty rights and established the tribes as co-managers of salmon resources.
credit:
Michael Werner
Native American tribes like the Swinomish are applying a long-term view of planning when dealing with climate change. The adaptations they make today will benefit their great grandchildren.
credit:
Saskia de Melker
Alan Hamlet, a University of Washington hydrologist, says that sea-level rise threatens habitats like this estuary in Padilla Bay.
credit:
Katie Campbell
The Skagit River is fed by nearly 400 glaciers and is the only large river system in Washington State that is home to all five species of Pacific salmon. The effects of climate change impact salmon at all stages of their life cycle.
credit:
Katie Campbell
The Swinomish grill salmon for a feast with 300 people to mark the start of salmon fishing season. Native tribes have a right to half of the harvestable salmon returning each year to western Washington.