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.
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.
