The Salmon Ceremony is held each year when the first salmon runs begin, usually around June. The ceremony is held to thank the salmon, as members of the Animal Kingdom, for allowing themselves to be killed in order to provide food for humans. The Kwakwaka'wakw people believe that if the salmon are not thanked properly they will not come back the next year, or that something bad will befall the salmon stock. This notion comes from the Kwakwaka'wakw belief that animals are part of the Animal Kingdom, which is made up of beings who can transform themselves back and forth between their animal forms and their human forms.
Animals give themselves up freely in order to provide food for humans.
At one time, thousands of years ago, humans and the Animal Kingdom beings could communicate with each other. However, over the years, humans have lost their power to see animals in their human forms. The Kwakwaka'wakw people believe that animals, such as the salmon, allow themselves to be caught, and that if their remains are treated correctly, the animal will return home and become another animal, and eventually sacrifice itself again. Therefore, if the Animal Kingdom is not properly thanked for its sacrifice there will be no more food. This is the reason the Kwakwaka'wakw people hold the Salmon Ceremony and celebrate the first run of the salmon each year.