All Our Relations is a two-week, Indigenous-led campaign traveling through the Northwest to bring attention to the urgent need to restore a resilient, freely flowing lower Snake River by removing its four federal dams as part of a comprehensive regional solution to rebuild salmon abundance and uphold our nation’s promises to Northwest Tribes.

The All Our Relations Snake River Campaign Cumulation event in Seattle will be moderated by KNKX reporter Bellamy Pailthorp. The conversation will feature nationally-recognized thought leaders and voices steeped in Indigneous knowledge. This program will deepen our understanding of what it means to be taken care of by nature and our moral obligation to ensure the protection of our collective natural and cultural heritage for current and future generations.

This event comes at a key inflection point as the Biden Administration considers critical decisions this fall on the fate and future of the Snake River, its endangered salmon and the Southern Resident orcas that depend on them, the lifeways of the First Nations Salmon People -  and 'all our relations' into the Seventh Generation.

REGISTER HERE 

Program for 'All Our Relations' at Seattle Town Hall:

​​6:05 pm: Welcome
6:10 pm: Opening Song by Chenoa Egawa, Coast Salish of the Lummi and S'Kallam Nations
6:20 pm: Panel discussion moderated by Bellamy Pailthorp
7:50 pm: Call to Action and Closing Remarks

Featured panelists: 

• Jay Julius: A fisherman, former Chairman of the Lummi Nation, and Founder and President of the Indigenous-led nonprofit Se’Si’Le.
• Shannon Wheeler: Chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe.
• Judith Le Blanc: A member of the Caddo Tribe and the Executive Director of Native Organizers Alliance.
• Ben Jealous: Executive Director of the Sierra Club and former National President and CEO of the NAACP.
• Sally Jewell: U.S. Secretary of the Interior (2013-2017) with four decades of experience as leader in business, including eight years as CEO of REI.

'All Our Relations' events will feature a beautiful 8-foot-in-diameter steel sculpture, hand-crafted for this journey by Lummi Nation member A. Cyaltsa Finkbonner and 'House of Tears' Master Carver Jewell James that celebrates the sacred connections of 'All Our Relations’.

ACT NOW: Call on the Biden Administration to uphold our nation's promises to Northwest Tribes by working with Northwest communities to develop and implement a comprehensive solution that includes the removal of the four lower Snake River dams, recovers endangered salmon and orcas, and invests in our communities and clean energy economy.

The 2023 All Our Relations Snake River Campaign will travel through Washington, Oregon, and Idaho to inspire and build community, and to press the Biden Administration and our region's members of Congress to protect salmon from extinction and restore them to abundance.

Native peoples in the Northwest have depended on their relationship with salmon since time immemorial. To protect the salmon from extinction and uphold our nation's assurances to Tribal communities, we must urgently replace the services of the four lower Snake River dams and restore a free-flowing river. 

“Time is running out to protect our sacred salmon. This is a crisis that threatens our way of life, and it is a violation of our treaty rights. The federal government is failing to uphold the promises made to our ancestors when we ceded our lands.”—Chairman Shannon Wheeler, Nez Perce Tribe

Each stop of the campaign will feature an 8-foot-in-diameter steel sculpture, handcrafted for the journey by Lummi Nation member A. Cyaltsa Finkbonner. Cyaltsa collaborated with Master Carver Jewell James to create a piece that celebrates the sacred connections of 'All Our Relations.’ At each location, Jewell James, Cyaltsa Finkbonner, and Indigenous leaders will use the sculptural vessel in ceremony.

Through art, music, procession, and prayer, each stop of this campaign uniquely invites support to honor Tribes, and comprehensive solutions to recover endangered salmon and steelhead populations. We hope you’ll join Indigenous leaders, coalition partners, and supporters as we stand together and call to restore the lower Snake River and its salmon. 

Follow this link to learn about and register to attend one or more of the All Our Relations Snake River Campaign events in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

Past Events

March 16, 2024: An Evening of Music Inspired by I Sing the Salmon Home by Rena Priest 
When: March 16th, 7:30 pm PT 
What: Join us at Town Hall Seattle to hear original music inspired by the poetry anthology published last year - I Sing The Salmon Home: Poems from Washington State by Rena Priest. SOS was honored to be included as a partner organization for I Sing the Salmon Home with Ms. Priest and the good people of Empty Bowl Press. This event is presented by Bushwick Book Club Seattle and Empty Bowl Press. 

Feb 24 Sacred Salmon Town Hall At Seattle University
When: Saturday, Feb. 24 at 10-11:30 am
Where: Seattle U. Student Center 160, LeRoux Conference Room
What: Stand in solidarity with our community as we raise our collective voices to elected officials to advocate for the respect and upholding or tribal treaties, the preservation and restoration of salmon and our common home, and for the removal of the four lower Snake River dams! This is free and open to the public. 

Meaningful Movies: Covenant of the Salmon People film screening
When: Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7 - 9 pm.
Where: 6038 South Pilgrim Street Seattle, in Rainier Beach
What: Covenant of the Salmon People is a 60-minute documentary portrait of the Nez Perce Tribe as they continue to carry out their ancient promise to protect Chinook salmon, cornerstone species and first food their people have subsisted on for tens of thousands of years. As a dammed river system and climate impacts threaten the extinction of Chinook salmon, a cornerstone of their culture and ancestral diet, they continue to do their part to uphold this relationship-but will it be enough to save wild salmon from extinction? 

January 24, 2024 - Salmon Orca Project's 'Tribal Voices Matter: Collaborative Conservation Effort' 
When: January 24, 2024, 12 pm PST 
Where: Virtual via Zoom 
What: Join Salmon Orca Project in their next Tribal Voices Matter focused on collaborative conservation efforts. Key topics include successful partnerships in conservation, strategies for collaborative conservation, and inspiring environmental action.

January 25, 2024 - Legislative Education & Advocacy Fair  
When: January 25, 2024, 6 pm PST 
Where: Virtual via Zoom 
What: Join organizations across Washington for a special educational workshop & advocacy fair on January 25th from 6-7:30pm. During this advocacy fair, learn how to do legislative advocacy in Washington State, and connect with awesome groups in Washington who are doing legislative advocacy work around environment, climate, justice, and more.

Boldt at 50: Reflecting on Treaty Justice and Tribal Sovereignty
When: Monday, Feb.12, Doors open at 7pm, Panel begins at 7:30pm.
Where: Seattle Town Hall
What: Boldt at 50 commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Boldt Decision, a pivotal moment in civil rights history and tribal sovereignty. Centered around Charles Wilkinson’s acclaimed work, Treaty Justice, a panel will discuss the Boldt Decision and its enduring impact on the tribal sovereignty movement in the PNW and beyond. The event is set to open with Native drummers; remarks from Darrell Hillaire, executive director of Children of the Setting Sun Productions.