Pre-trip blog: Salmon, Indigenous Rights, and the Legacy of the Treaty of Point Elliot - by Avery K.

Monday November 7, 2022

During a class period in early November, we had the privilege of sitting down to talk with Joe Williams, a prominent political figure of the Swinomish Tribe and devoted fisherman. Joe has dedicated his life to fishing and helping to keep the traditional Swinomish practices of living off the land alive. He served on the tribal senate for five years starting in 2016 and continues to be an important figure while also staying heavily involved in the tribe’s projects focused on marine restoration. While talking with him, he told us about the importance of stewardship within his community and how much they depend on salmon and the health of their fisheries. He said that he always tries to stay on the water and is always vocal about restoration. 

We talked more about the significance of salmon in his culture and community which helped us further our comprehension of salmon’s ecological importance. The Swinomish people view salmon as relatives, family members, that they have been entrusted to take care of and in return, be fed by them. Traditionally, the Swinomish tribe fishes at the mouth of the Skagit river, which means they are close to seeing the last of the salmon migrating back to freshwater. Due to the encroachment of the United States, this habitual practice has changed drastically over time. In the 1850s, the Swinomish participated in a treaty signing, the Treaty of Point Elliot, that promised reservation land and full fishing rights. At the time, the Head of Indian affairs did not care about fishing rights so he gave them to the Swinomish with no question. As time progressed, the treaty was continually ignored and fishing rights were not given as promised. This led us to conversations about asserting sovereignty and sovereign rights. We then came to an important event named the Boldt decision which was the conclusion to a long fight with the government to secure Native fishing rights for the Swinomish. It was decided that within the language of the treaty, Native fishing rights were tribal and not individual therefore, the Swinomish would have access to all of their original fishing grounds. This was a huge success. Joe describes his long career in fishing as a product, a gift, of the work of his ancestors. His ancestors have been caring for the land and respecting the migration cycle of the salmon all with the purpose of making sure even the next seven generations are provided for. Fighting for the continued access to their traditional fishing rights is an example of this. 

Joe talked about how in his life, he has witnessed decreasing numbers of salmon, not only in population, but also in size. During this discussion we tried to grasp some of his frustration he feels from people continuing to not care about Salmon health. Regardless, he continues to teach his children how to be a proper fisherman and puts his focus towards helping restore surrounding marine environments. He is an example of how we can work towards restoring a healthy ecological environment.