Photos left to right: Martina Escutin, Ktunaxa Nation, Jade Montgomery-Waardenburg, Syilx Okanagan Nation, Sofia Terbasket-Funmaker, Syilx Okanagan Nation

Salmon Warriors Gathering 2022: A Bringing the Salmon Home Initiative

In August 2022, 21 young people gathered at the headwaters of the mighty Columbia River to share, learn, experience, and connect with the land, waters, and one another. Over three days they learned from Elders, Knowledge Keepers, each other, and the waters around them, about the deep connection and reverence our people have with salmon. The event was organized by the Indigenous-led Bringing the Salmon Home: Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative. Although salmon have been gone from the upper Columbia Basin for over 80 years, these Salmon Warriors saw hope, resilience, and the power they each have in helping the salmon to come home. Here are the voices of three of our warriors:

Martina Escutin - Ktunaxa Nation

In August of 2022, I attended the Youth Salmon Warriors Camp, which took place on the ancestral homelands of the Ktunaxa people, at ʔakisq̓nuk First Nation. The camp was a historical gathering of youth from three Nations, the Syilx, Secwépemc, and Ktunaxa peoples.

As a Ktunaxa Nation member I feel honoured to have been part of this event. I arrived with very little knowledge about salmon in the Upper Columbia or the restoration initiatives to bring them back, and at first, I felt embarrassed that I didn’t know more. After some thought, it occurred to me how intentional this was. The loss of swaq̓mu (Salmon) from the Upper Columbia River had a devastating effect on our people’s ability to be self-sufficient and maintain our way of life – this was no accident. When I realized how connected the loss of swaq̓mu is to all the other social justice issues I care about, I decided “I am a Salmon Warrior after all.”

We gathered, prayed, and sang together for the return of the salmon and in turn the salmon fed our spirits. For many of us, this was the first time meeting each other. However, the connections we have as Salmon People from three distinct Nations along the Columbia River run as deep as the river itself. Everything we do has an impact on ʔakxamis qapi qapsins (all living things), and I know the connections we have as Salmon People are what will ripple this work forwards.

Sofia Terbasket-Funmaker - Syilx Okanagan Nation

The salmon life cycle is truly spectacular. I’ve always resonated with the fact that salmon always find their way home. They know where they belong, and their instincts bring them back to it. When I think about my connection to salmon, I think about the salmon life cycle and their connection to home. I have traveled to many places around the world and every time I return to the smelqmix, I can feel my ancestors welcoming me back. It is like the greens and light browns of the trees, sage and mountains are inviting me in for a hug. I can feel how much I have been missed simply by driving through the territory. I know that my home in the smelqmix is the one place in the world that I will always belong. Just like salmon will always belong in their home. Salmon cannot get home right now due to damming and colonial structures. It is through this mutual connection to home that I realized how important it is for me to stand up for my tmixw relatives, especially salmon, to get them home. It is all of our responsibility to get our salmon home because it is where they belong, just like us.

Jade Montgomery-Waardenburg - Syilx Okanagan Nation / Secwepémc Nation

We gathered the blood and guts of the salmon that we learned to gut, process, and can with our Auntie Deb Crow. Our elders brought us to the creek so we could return the bones, heads, and fins back to the water as our protocol instructs us to; we went where salmon haven’t been physically present in over 80 years. Our Elders spoke to the importance of this way and the significance of what it means to have salmon back in the waters as it was before. The spirit of salmon still lives in the Columbia and we, the Salmon Warriors, got to be a part of waking them up. We followed Xastitk^w in singing them back; we help the waters get stronger by offering back to the tmix^w (all living things). I watched the pieces of my food, Chief Ntytyix dance in the current tumbling along the smooth rocks. We sat there singing, placing piece by piece gently into the icy waters feeling the power of prayer and the fulfillment in our hearts - three Nations as one. I couldn’t help but tear up with pride as if my spirit had been yearning for this very moment. All of our spirits need this. We are Salmon People, and we are stronger together.

These three young women have shared their unique takeaways from the gathering exemplifying the power that comes from meeting on the land and by the water with open hearts and minds. The next Salmon Warriors Gathering will be held at the same location in June 2023. For more information, please see: ColumbiaRiverSalmon.ca