The International Indigenous Salmon Seas Symposium and Press Conference

Building Indigenous-Led Conservation Alliances Across the Pan-Pacific Salmon Seas

LIVESTREAMED OCTOBER 28 9 AM – 4:30 PM (PST) AND OCTOBER 30 FROM 6 – 8 PM (PST)

The International Indigenous Salmon Seas Symposium brings together thirty-five Indigenous peoples, knowledge-keepers, and invited guests from the three great salmon seas: the Salish Sea, Alaska, and the Russian Far East (the Sea of Okhotsk/Bikin River and the Kamchatka Peninsula) for five days. We gather to invoke in a good way that is held in the arms of ancestral knowledge and deep ceremony a new era of collaboration and communication among the Salmon Peoples of the Pan-Pacific.

The cumulative impacts of overharvesting, habitat loss, pollution, governmental neglect, as well as global warming are all contributing to a decline of up to 90% of the wild salmon in these Salmon Seas. This catastrophic ecological disruption is also a clear and present danger to the ancient lifeways of the Pan-Pacific Indigenous communities. The Symposium is dedicated to the proposition that all of us have an obligation to each other, to all our relations, to the creation, and to future generations to honour ancient lifeways, celebrate our alliances, and work together to restore to health of the Salmon Seas and through that healing, to heal ourselves. Se’Si’Le is honoured to work with its friends and allies to facilitate this historic gathering that is a turning point in the work to restore the Salmon Seas. We express our gratitude to the indigenous participants who have come from the Russian Far East and to those from the Organized Village of Kake and the United Tribes of Bristol Bay who have come from Alaska. And our hands go out to the Original Peoples from the Salish Sea bioregion who will also bring their ancestral, ecological, and ceremonial knowledge to empower this historic gathering.

We invite all members of the public to join us on the livestream for a day of ceremony, storytelling and knowledge sharing on October 28th and a celebration on October 30th. All in-person events are invitation-only.

Read more and register for the symposium.

Press Conference on October 31, 2022

WHAT: Indigenous Peoples from across the pan-Pacific Salmon Seas will hold a press conference for a historical signing of a Salmon People’s Proclamation and formalize their solidarity to protect salmon and the indigenous lifeways they support. Speakers and signatories will include Indigenous Peoples from the Pacific Northwest, up through the Gulf of Alaska and across the Bering Sea to the Russian Far East.

WHEN: Monday, Oct. 31, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. (PDT)

WHERE: Woodland Park Zoo at the grizzly bear habitat. Media are invited to gather prior to 11:00 a.m. at the West Entrance and will be escorted to the press conference location. The West Entrance is lo-cated at Phinney Ave. N. between N. 55th & N. 56th Sts. Park in the Penguin Lot at N. 55th St. & Phinney Ave. N. or Otter Lot off N. 59th St. & Phinney Ave. N.

VISUALS: The press event will begin with a Lushootseed land acknowledgment followed by a ceremo-nial opening by JoDe Goudy from the Yakama Nation, remarks from Indigenous community leaders from each of the Salmon Seas, and conclude with a Salmon Seas Peoples ceremony that will accompany the signing of the Salmon Peoples’ Proclamation.

LIVESTREAM LINK: http://www.zoo.org/salmonseas
Due to space and capacity restrictions, this event is open in-person to media only. The livestream link is available for all community members and interested viewers.

Media contacts
Se’Si’Le: Kurt Russo (360) 961-4554 frkvalues@aol.com
Woodland Park Zoo: Gigi Allianic, Craig Newberry woodlandparkzoopr@zoo.org

Read more about the press conference.