Tribes are steadfast about their treaty shellfish harvest rights. If we weren't, our livelihoods and cultures would disappear. In Mystery Bay, off Marrowstone Island, several tribes are working hard to…
OLYMPIA (June 19, 2007) – I’ve spoken about the traditional knowledge of our ancestors for many years because within its teachings are the answers to the environmental challenges we all face today.
The heart of traditional knowledge is respect. Learn to listen and you can hear the rhythm of this heartbeat being passed from generation to generation in the ceremonies and stories of our people. Listen and you can feel its valuable lessons in the collective breath of living things big and small. Feel this heart beat and you will feel your own.
Indian Country Today: Frank, Nisqually, is co-chairman of the Puget Sound Partnership, a governor-appointed panel charged with developing a plan to restore the health of Puget Sound by 2020. For…
OLYMPIA (November 22, 2005) — My brother, Vine Deloria, Jr., of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, passed away on November 13, joining the likes of Joe DeLaCruz of the Quinault and Dutch Kinley of the Lummi as well as Joseph of the Nez Perce and Crazy Horse of the Lakota Sioux at the Great Council Fire. I will miss him deeply, and always be grateful for the brightness he contributed to the world.
Vine was a rock, a steady hand in the struggle for justice. He was a man of great vision and spirit who understood the ongoing need to value Indian legacies in both tribal and non-tribal societies. He knew the wisdom of learning from our predecessors and comprehending ageless tribal traditions.
OLYMPIA (May 30, 2003) — Tribal shellfish harvesters across western Washington have been reporting drastic drops in orders due to the continuing Severe Acute Repertory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in China. “Geoducks are eaten in restaurants in China, but now because of SARS, it seems like no one even wants to go out in public,” said Dave Winfrey, shellfish biologist with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. Most of the geoducks harvested in Washington are eventually sold in overseas markets, such as China.
“We have geoduck fishermen going out for half days, filling 500 pound orders when they are used to filling orders four times that size,” said Winfrey. “The geoducks themselves are safe; there just isn”t a market right now. This is a huge blow not only the individual harvesters, but to their families and entire tribal communities.”
WASHINTTON COAST (March 1, 2002) -- Harvest of blackcod, one of the economic pillars of the coastal tribal communities, has been cut by 37 percent this season. The oily bottom-dwelling…