Indigenous-led Campaign for Snake River Dams Removal Stops in Lewiston
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All Our Relations Snake River campaign will make its fifth out of six stops in Lewiston, Idaho, on Sept. 29 and 30 at Hells Gate State Park (5100 Hells Gate Rd.).
This stop is part of a two-week, Indigenous-led campaign traveling through the Northwest to bring attention to the call to remove the four lower Snake River dams. Organizers believe this will provide a broad solution to restore salmon to abundance and uphold promises made to Northwest Tribes by the nation.
“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,” said Chairman Shannon Wheeler of the Nez Perce Tribe on the campaign’s website. “The federal government is failing to uphold the promises made to our ancestors when we ceded our lands.”
The event starts on Sept. 29 with an informal meet and greet at the day use area.
The next day’s events will feature an 8-foot-in diameter steel sculpture, handcrafted for the journey by Lummi Nation members A. Cyaltsa Finkbonner and Master Carver Jewell James that represents a vision of All Our Relations.
Activities also include Tribal Hand Drums, a ceremonial smudging, Indigenous food and speakers and a flotilla on the river. Campsites at Hells Gate State Park are available for Friday night.
The Invitation
Organizers invite the community to stand with them and let their voices be heard for the salmon and the First Nations Salmon People, the Southern Resident Killer Whales, the Salish Sea and all their relations into the Seventh Generation.
“For millennia, salmon and the Snake and Columbia Rivers they call home sustained Indigenous peoples and cultures throughout the Northwest,” according to the Snake River Campaign’s website. “Today, salmon returns are dismal and several Northwest Tribal Nations are calling on the federal government to uphold their commitments and restore abundant salmon.”
Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment will cover the cost of the entrance fees and the campsites.
More information on the event can be Visit the website for more information on the event along with the two-day agenda, waiver forms for the flotilla and how to reserve a campsite.
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