April 2012 - Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

swədəbš qyuuqs
Chairman’s Message:
Aix (Aee hw)
Page 3
Oh my goodness, it must be spring with all the rain in February and March!
Spring has crept up upon the Swinomish community and we are getting ready
for a busy couple of months. We have been engaged in wonderful and powerful
environmental and natural resources dialogues through out the Salish Sea.
A Swinomish delegation traveled to the 6 th Annual Coast Salish Gathering and
we were honored to gather with First Nations to engage in an important environmental
policy dialogue.
Our Salish Sea is vitally important to all of our people, as we harvest often
from the sea and rely on it for food, medicine, cultural ceremonies and to a
certain extent transportation. For a lengthy amount of time our Coast Salish
families have been divided by borders and governments. But we remember
who we are and where we come from. It is time to act now as we have environmental
challenges, and several health concerns within each of the Coast
Salish communities as a Nation.
At the Gathering we heard the messages from our youth, experts, leaders, ancestors and our elders. It is time
for us to take it to the next level and take action. As the environmental challenges are growing on a daily basis,
our fish, clams, oysters, crabs, seaweed and eel grass are disappearing at a rapid pace. We all rely on these for
survival and for subsistence. We know that there is Western World Science and we have our Traditional Ecological
Science, and we can make it work if we walk together for the better of Mother Earth.
The Coast Salish Gathering provides an opportunity for us to address issues that impact our way of life and to
then create an environmental action plan that focuses the conservation and restoration of the Salish Sea ecosystem
to a level that ensures sustainability to our Coast Salish People and our cultural way of life. We are committed
to ensuring we provide a healthy, safe and prosperous home for our future children.
My heart is full of the strong spirits and voices of the Coast Salish, and as I come home, I too share my
thoughts of walking together with our families that surround us through out the Salish Sea.
Have a wonderful and warm April! May the Creator bless you and keep you safe.
Spee-pots
(Brian Cladoosby)
“We know that there is Western World Science and we have our
Traditional Ecological Science, and we can make it work if we
walk together for the better of Mother Earth.”
Spee Pots being
honored and gifted
a paddle vest at the
Coast Salish Gathering.
“To be worn
when you represent
the Coast Salish
People.”
Photo: Leon John
The Coast Salish
Territories.
Graphic:
www.firstnations
.de