Remnant pristine forest ecosystems, from the northern boreal forests to the Everglades, largely overlap Native territories. In the Northwest, virtually every river is home to a people, each as distinct as a species of salmon. The Tillamook, Siletz, Yaquina, Alsea, Siuslaw, Umpqua, Hanis, Miluk, Colville, Tututni, Shasta, Costa, and Chetco are all peoples living at the mouths of salmon rivers. One hundred and seven stocks of salmon have already become extinct in the Pacific Northwest, and 89 are endangered. The stories of the fish and the people are not so different.
Environmental destruction threatens the existence of both.
The Tygh band of the Lower Deschutes River in Oregon includes a scant five families, struggling in their traditional way of life and their relationship to the salmon. Seventeen fish came down the river last year. None this year. The people are the salmon, and the salmon are the people. Our relations to each other, our prayers whispered across generations to our relatives, are what bind our cultures together.