Indigenous leaders discuss of efforts for future generations

 

At the Eastern Washington Legislative Conference (EWLC) in January, leaders from the Colville Confederated, Spokane and Coeur d'Alene tribes not only told of issues facing reservations and waterways but also reported on work being done on behalf of future generations.

Panelists were Margo Hill-Ferguson, Caj Matheson, DR Michel and Twa-le Abrahamson.

Margo, a Spokane tribal citizen and Coeur d'Alene descendent, grew up in Wellpinit on the Spokane Reservation, where she later served 10 years as an attorney for the tribe. She now lives in North Spokane, teaches urban and regional planning at Eastern Washington University and is director of American Indian studies.

Caj, as director of natural resources for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and second vice president for Affiliated Tribes of the Northwest Indians, addresses toxins in Coeur d'Alene Lake and salmon passage in Hangman Creek.

DR, a citizen of the Colville Confederated Tribe, has brought his tribe together with the Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai and Kalispel tribes for common action in his work for 17 years as executive director of Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT).

Twa-le, a citizen of the Spokane Tribe and descendant of the Coeur d'Alene and Navajo Nations, serves on the Washington State Office of Equity Community Advisory Board and the Indigenous Environmental Network Board of Directors. She has been a social, health and environmental justice organizer for more than 20 years.

Margo discussed issues for urban and reservation tribal people—such as environmental protection, drug addiction and gangs, health equity and community health, sovereignty and jurisdictional issues for law enforcement, retaining police officers and transportation.

"We continue to fight addiction," she said, telling of a niece dying from a drug overdose before she was to start a job.

The challenge in fighting drug dealers and enforcing laws is the checkerboard of jurisdictions in reservations affecting what law enforcement entity has authority, she explained. When police come, they decide if it's reservation land, government trust land or private land, if the perpetrator is tribal or non-tribal, and if it's a felony—for the FBI and U.S. Attorney—or a misdemeanor under tribal or local jurisdiction.

Margo added that the state cooperates with tribal justice systems to fund fentanyl prevention in tribal schools and behavioral health facilities to treat substance use disorder.

She described some current bills tribal communities are supporting.

• SB 5060 forms a hiring grant program to fill vacancies and retain police officers in local and tribal law enforcement.

• SB 5374 gives tribes—the largest employer in some counties—a seat on the Regional Transportation Consortium.

• SB 5301 extends governmental services provided by cities outside cities to tribes.

• SB 5110 provides a tuition waiver for tribal elders to attend community colleges.

"We continue to fight for fresh, cool, clean water for fish and for people," she added.

Because a UCUT film addressed issues of natural resources, Caj focused on values that affect the tribal approach to natural resources.

Sharing about coyote stories, he gave background on why viewing the natural world as a resource is contrary to the tribes' perspective of the world.

"I grew up on coyote stories. It was a privilege and fun to hear these stories about the animals and the animal peoples before human contact," he said.

Caj said Coyote, the primary character, is a goofball who always does something selfish, scheming to plot something that almost always fails. He is often an example of what not to do.

"In the process we laugh," he said.

Sometimes Coyote ends up doing something righteous for all the animal peoples, and good things come out of it. An example is the creation story. Coyote rescued the animals from a monster that was gobbling them up. Then he used parts of the monster to create all the Indian tribes in the region.

"Growing up hearing these stories over and over and over and over, they're incredible," Caj commented.

Caj gave an example of the stories' impact. Nine years ago, he was driving an elder, Felix Aripa, to an event reintroducing canoes on the lake for the first time in 100 years. Felix was telling how important canoes were for people to heal when they came around a corner and saw a coyote run across the road.

Felix said, 'Oh look, there goes Coyote. I wonder what he's up to.' I chuckled, realizing how hearing these stories over and over has an impact on us. It makes us think about our values, so if we see a coyote, it's Coyote," Caj said.

"That forms our thinking about natural resources as elements in the world. They are not objects but people. That changes how we interact, so it's difficult to take the life of an animal. If we do, we do not let any part go to waste. An animal is not a coyote, but Coyote," he explained.

Every element or animal in the natural world is like people—not creatures or resources, but land people or water people—the first peoples on the planet before human beings.

"That changes the way we perceive, approach and manage the world, mindful of the impact for seven generations," Caj said. "We understand we are a part of the greater ecology, not outside it. We don't view something as an extraction resource but respect its reciprocal role. We shouldn't take more than what we need and should be responsible for how we do it.

"That impacts how the Coeur d'Alene and other tribes manage resources. Coeur d'Alene Lake is a major Superfund site. Some contaminants flow into Washington. We lead the charge to clean up the lake to protect the environment, including what flows into Washington, which is also Coeur d'Alene tribal territory.

"We also have interest in salmon reintroduction in Hangman Creek, where we are concerned about sediment from agriculture and work to keep the water clean for salmon to return and spawn. As part of the system, we want to care for it in a sustainable way for all future generations," Caj said.

DR described UCUT's proactive, collaborative, science-based approach to promoting fish, water, wildlife and a diverse habitat to help maintain tribal cultures in the Northwest.

"UCUT provides a common voice for our region through the collaboration of the five tribes with nearly 15,000 tribal citizens who manage and influence 2,000,000 acres of reservation land, 14,000,000 acres of aboriginal land and 500 miles of waterways, 40 interior lakes, 30 dams and reservoirs.

"Our mission is to unite the Upper Columbia River tribes to protect, preserve and enhance treaty rights, sovereignty, culture, fish, water, wildlife, habitat and other common concerns through cooperation and coordination for the benefit of all," DR. said. "An important part of our mission is that what we do as tribes doesn't just benefit our tribes. It benefits everyone."

Working with those in charge of the systems for power generation and flood prevention, DR said many are programmed to think that power and flood risk management are benefits and salmon and natural resources are costs.

He points out that there are economic opportunities in bringing the salmon home. So UCUT did economic studies.

"It was hard for us to put an economic value on something the Creator gave us," he said, "but to advance those issues we thought it important to show the economic opportunities and values, because that seems to drive society."

UCUT's study found that the annual value of ecosystem services is $190 billion, while the value of hydropower is $3.3 billion per year.

"We're looking for a compromise where we can have inexpensive power and flood management, and also have salmon come back and address natural resources so we can restore our cultural ties to the river," said DR, introducing a 12-minute video with people from member tribes telling "how we work together to benefit all."

DR then showed the video on UCUT's work to restore salmon, to take care of the land and water, to collaborate with agencies to mitigate the impacts of the dams, to work with the governmental entities managing resources, to raise and release young fish from hatcheries so one day 20,000 to 50,000 will come back and to bring back ceremonies, traditional canoe journeys and races for healing.

"I do this work for my great-granddaughter," says DR on the video, "so our children and grandchildren can enjoy some of the way things were thousands of years ago. We can now see how far we've come."

Twa-le summarized the panelists' calls to action and issues they raised about concerns of reservation and urban communities.

"We ask you to support us in the fights our ancestors fought for us to be here today. In our lifetime we've seen amazing changes. We've fought some hard battles," said Twa-le, giving an example that the year before she was born it was illegal to practice her tribe's religion.

"Our languages have survived because of our ancestors' efforts," she added, likening their struggles to the resilience of salmon fighting to swim upstream to their home waters, jumping, hitting rocks and dams, as they fight to return.

 "As indigenous people, we need to fight as hard as they do to protect our future generations," she said. "In my lifetime, I hope my daughters are able to see and harvest some of our relatives that are coming home."

Advances include the presence of tribal representatives like Twa-le as leaders in state government and agencies.

"They not only fight for their tribes and districts but also for all tribes in our state and states across the borders, because we're looking at issues that are upstream and downstream from us and having success by collaborating on issues like transportation," she said.

Many communities on the Colville reservation are isolated, only accessible by ferry. That makes it hard for first responders to reach communities in emergencies and fires.

Spokane is threatened by nuclear waste being transported through town from Hanford to the Four Corners in the Southwest where Twa-le has relatives.

The Spokane Tribe also faces hundreds of thousands of years of toxic uranium mine waste in Superfund sites on the reservation, requiring perpetual water treatment and a nonstop waste stream flowing into the rivers.

"Our issues impact others, so we need to make sure we don't push toxins downstream or to other communities," she said. "Instead, we must create solutions that benefit everyone."

Twa-le said Margo listed issues on jurisdictions, treaty rights and agencies' obligations to consult with tribes, pointing to the need for more resources to address issues and have agencies consult with community members "so decisions are not made about us without us," Twa-le said.

"Our people and children are impacted forever by the dams and toxins," she added.

The record deaths of elders in the COVID epidemic revealed the disparities in health care for tribal communities and weakened immune systems from nuclear mines and facilities.

Their deaths also reduced the number of fluent Salish language speakers. At one point there were fewer than 10.

"Now we are directing much effort to save our language, because with that comes our worldview," Twa-le said. "With our language, we teach our youth our values and the creation stories we were taught and knowledge we need to pass down at powwows, canoe journeys and ceremonies as salmon come back."

"We invite you to participate in some of these events in our community," she said. "When you see announcements of pow wows, canoe journeys or salmon releases, please come to join them with your families and friends."

For information, call 535-4112 or visit ucut.org.