The Fishing History of the Lummi People
Presentation Abstract
The Fishing History of the Lummi People
Lummi Nation is a community of fishing people who have lived off the bounty of the Salish Sea for centuries. At Lummi – like many Coast Salish tribes – Fishing is central to our She’langen (way of life). Salmon are as important to our culture as the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the plants we harvest. It is our obligation to our ancestors and our future generations to preserve the knowledge of our fishing history. It is important for future generations of the Lummi Nation to learn this history, including the struggles the ancestors endured to ensure that our inherent and treaty rights were protected. For this presentation, I discuss the process of documenting the oral histories of Lummi Fisherman as part of my capstone project at Northwest Indian College. My work is informed by interviews with Lummi elders, fishers and other members of the Lummi Tribe. The interviews were conducted and collected to create a documentary that tells the story of the fishing history of the Lummi people. Assistance from Lummi Natural Resource Department propelled this work, and research was enhanced by archival and ethnographic documentation from both Western Washington University and Lummi Archives, as well as by research papers, scientific journals, and literature reviews.
Session Title
The Power of Place - Promoting Decolonizing Methodologies in Water Governance in the Salish Sea
Conference Track
People
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Lummi Indians--Fishing--History
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Lummi Island (Wash. : Island)--History
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
The Fishing History of the Lummi People
2016SSEC
The Fishing History of the Lummi People
Lummi Nation is a community of fishing people who have lived off the bounty of the Salish Sea for centuries. At Lummi – like many Coast Salish tribes – Fishing is central to our She’langen (way of life). Salmon are as important to our culture as the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the plants we harvest. It is our obligation to our ancestors and our future generations to preserve the knowledge of our fishing history. It is important for future generations of the Lummi Nation to learn this history, including the struggles the ancestors endured to ensure that our inherent and treaty rights were protected. For this presentation, I discuss the process of documenting the oral histories of Lummi Fisherman as part of my capstone project at Northwest Indian College. My work is informed by interviews with Lummi elders, fishers and other members of the Lummi Tribe. The interviews were conducted and collected to create a documentary that tells the story of the fishing history of the Lummi people. Assistance from Lummi Natural Resource Department propelled this work, and research was enhanced by archival and ethnographic documentation from both Western Washington University and Lummi Archives, as well as by research papers, scientific journals, and literature reviews.
