By Erasmus Baxter
Any person paying close attention to the local activism scene cannot have missed the appearance of Students for the Salish Sea. Named for the body of water that includes Puget Sound to the south and the Strait of Georgia to the north, this tenacious group of young activists is notable at the very least for the sheer number of events they have hosted since their creation. Their next upcoming event is the Free the Snake Letter Writing Training. This will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on January 27 in Fairhaven College. We caught up with Students for the Salish Sea via Facebook to see what they were all about and to find out more about the letter writing event:
AS Review (ASR): When did Students for the Salish Sea begin and what inspired its creation?
Students for the Salish Sea (SSS): Western’s Students for the Salish Sea is a pilot club that was started fall quarter, 2016. The idea of the club was born in a car ride home from Standing Rock in early September. Chiara D’angelo, a community-supported sacred activist who graduated from Fairhaven last spring with a degree in Whole Systems Thinking for a Healthy Salish Sea had always wanted to start a club that focused on activating students to respond to the declining health of the Salish Sea but didn’t have the capacity to do so during her years as a student and organizer.
As Chiara and her mom, Jane, and I drove across the plains of North Dakota, Pacific-bound, we felt deeply called to continue the act of protecting water and uniting in solidarity with Indigenous movements when we returned to our bioregion. Transformation takes place at Standing Rock, and Students for The Salish Sea is what came out of that transformation.
ASR: What events or accomplishments have you had?
SSS: In fall quarter, we gathered over 500 signatures urging the Whatcom County Council to support federally designating the Nooksack River as a Wild & Scenic River, we organized a three-day fast in solidarity with the starving Southern Resident Orca Whale in protest of the four lower Snake River Dams, we rallied with Save Our Wild Salmon and EarthJustice in Seattle and attended the Public Comment Period for the Free the Snake Movement, we coordinated an action at the Seattle Army Corps offices and we held a fundraiser in support of the Lax Kw’alaams resistance to the Petronas LNG proposal on Lelu Island, B.C, raising approximately $5,000! In addition, we also initiated another pilot club at Northwest Indian College.
ASR: What’s going to happen at the [upcoming Free the Snake Letter Writing Training]?
SSS: Karlee Deatherage, the Policy Analyst at RE Sources for Sustainable Communities will be speaking to the club and guiding us through the process of writing a public comment. It’s an opportunity to learn skills in writing and delivering a public comment, and make an outline for your own personal letter to the action agencies in charge of breaching the four lower Snake River Dams.
ASR: What’s the goal of that event?
SSS: There are a few goals of this event. One the one hand, we want to enable students to be more effective and confident in their ability to engage with decision-making entities such as council members or federal action agencies. It’s an opportunity to empower students to use their voice and give them the skills to write and speak with clarity and influence.
On the other hand, removing the lower Snake River Dams is crucial for the health of the Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) in The Salish Sea. Southern residents migrate and feed on Chinook salmon from the Snake River in the Columbia River basin. Chinook are the largest salmon and the most fatty, and are the SRKW’s predominant source of food. Removing these four lower dams would be the largest salmon restoration project ever undertaken in the U.S, and possibly the world, and would give Chinook access to thousands of miles of pristine spawning habitat. We need a collective voice that’s united in the effort to Free The Snake. Writing a public comment is an urgent call to action to speak up for endangered salmon, and support the Nimiipuu and Nez Perce tribes who are working relentlessly to protect their sovereign right to have access to healthy salmon runs.
ASR: Why is what you’re doing important in this current moment?
SSS: We believe that spreading watershed consciousness will lead to the healing of communities and their relationships to the environment. I think what’s activating this group of students, particularly, is each of our own elemental allegiance to water, and our dream to live in a harmonious way with Mother Earth. I have heard the Laqtemish (Lummi Nation) say that “we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we inherit it from our children.” This teaching demonstrates that we are borrowing the land and resources from future generations, and it is our sacred obligation and responsibility to ensure that they will always have rivers that run and orcas that swim.
ASR: Do you have any other upcoming events or plans for the future?
SSS: Friday February 3rd: Matt Petryni (Part I): “Strategy:” Setting goals, tracking progress, power mapping, planning campaigns.
Friday February 10: Matt Petryni (Part II): “Tactics:” developing messages, getting people involved, recruitment and retention, basic canvassing skills.
ASR: How can people get involved?
SSS: Folks can get involved by staying tuned in to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Students-for-The-Salish-Sea-160049134442850/ and attending our weekly Friday meetings at 4 p.m. in FA 326. Additionally, they can email studentsforthesalishsea@gmail.com and request to be included in our weekly emails that update everyone about what we’re up to.
ABOVE: A map of the area referred to as the Salish Sea. Photo via Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor Project.