The Salmon People is a masterful history of Canada's west coast. From the first people's tales of salmon to BC's first cannery, to overfishing and the environmental concerns that still exist today, this comprehensive early history is a must-read for anyone interested in how BC's fishing industry reached where it is today. Told from the strong and witty voice of Hugh Wilford McKervill, who once fished alongside the First Nations peoples of Bella Bella, The Salmon People is both an historically accurate account of the fishing industry and a salty buoyant memoir. In the author's own words, "so long as there fish surging from the sea there will be salmon people willing to brave the torments of nature to catch them, and the salmon will probably come forever . . . if man does not destroy them."
Different versions of the Salmon People legend have been told for centuries by many tribes of Northwest Coast Indians. Though the tellings may differ in detail from tribe to tribe and era to era, all versions express the Indian belief that animals have spirits and can move freely between animal and human realms, choosing to feed humans when approached with proper respect and ceremony. Claire Rudolf Murphy's thought-provoking tale about the interdependence of humans and animals is based on anthropologist Franz Boas's accounts and on interviews with Tsimshian elders and craftsmen. Acclaimed Northwest Coast artist Duane Pasco enlivens the myth with his striking drawings. Claire Rudolf Murphy is the author of ten books for children including Children of the Gold Rush and Caribou Girl.
Finalist for the 2020 C. Wright Mills Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems Since time before memory, large numbers of salmon have made their way up and down the Klamath River. Indigenous management enabled the ecological abundance that formed the basis of capitalist wealth across North America. These activities on the landscape continue today, although they are often the site of intense political struggle. Not only has the magnitude of Native American genocide been of remarkable little sociological focus, the fact that this genocide has been coupled with a reorganization of the natural world represents a substantial theoretical void. Whereas much attention has (rightfully) focused on the structuring of capitalism, racism and patriarchy, few sociologists have attended to the ongoing process of North American colonialism. Salmon and Acorns Feed Our People draws upon nearly two decades of examples and insight from Karuk experiences on the Klamath River to illustrate how the ecological dynamics of settler-colonialism are essential for theorizing gender, race and social power today.
Though life on earth is the history of dynamic interactions between living things and their surroundings, certain powerful groups would have us believe that nature exists only for our convenience. One consequence of such thinking is the apparent fate of the Pacific salmon--a key resource and preeminent symbol of America's wildlife--which is today threatened with extinction. Drawing on abundant data from natural science, Pacific coast culture, and a long association with key individuals on all sides of the issue, Joseph Cone's A Common Fate employs a clear narrative voice to tell the human and natural history of an environmental crisis in its final chapter. As inevitable as the November rains, countless millions of wild salmon returned from the ocean to spawn in the streams of their birth. In the wake of an orgy of dam building and habitat destruction, the salmon's majestic abundance has been reduced to a fleeting shadow. Neglect is the word the author uses to describe more recent losses, "by exactly the ones--state and federal fish managers--who should have acted." To signal a new awareness that action is needed, scientists charged with restocking the Columbia River Basin are receiving significant support, while ordinary citizens are beginning to recognize the relationship between cheap power and the absences of chinook, coho, sockeye, and other species from the coasts of Oregon and Washington and from Idaho's Snake River. As desperate as the salmon's future appears, the book is not an elegy for a lost resource. Instead, it bears witness to hope. In addition to concrete plans for the wild salmon's renewal, the reader will hear a growing chorus of informed individuals of differing values and beliefs who recognize that our fate is inextricably bound to the salmon's; for many it is a new understanding.
The River of the Salmon People captures what the Fraser River, and its most valuable resource, the salmon, means to First Nations communities along its basinches The result of nine community engagements, extensive research over two years, and illuminating photographs and artwork, this book captures the oral narratives of each community along the river. The book, while capturing timeless Indigenous stories and legends about the salmon and the river, is also an exploration of the future of the salmon and of the waters of the Fraser River. It will have high appeal to readers interested in First Nations issues, the sustainability of the salmon, and the environmental challenges facing the world today. The River of the Salmon People is an expression of the people, culture, ceremony and songs along the Fraser of will be of deep interest to both the general reader and students of the environment and Indigenous rights.
Shanyaak'utlaax: Salmon Boy comes from an ancient Tlingit story that teaches about respect for nature, animals and culture. The title character, a Tlingit boy, violates these core cultural values when he flings away a dried piece of salmon with mold on the end given to him by his mother. His disrespect offends the Salmon People, who sweep him into the water and into their world. This book is part of Baby Raven Reads, an award-winning Sealaska Heritage program for Alaska Native families with children up to age 5 that promotes language development and school readiness. Baby Raven Reads was awarded the Library of Congress's 2017 Literacy Awards Program Best Practice Honoree award.
