Return of the Salmon Celebration

by Greg Lincoln

Folks from Bethel and the surrounding area enjoyed an afternoon celebrating the return of salmon to the Kuskokwim River with food, music, prize giveaways, and speeches last Saturday. The gathering was also a call to action to come together around the love of salmon.

The Mother Kuskokwim Coalition sponsored the event along with local leaders, elders, special guests, musicians, and storytellers to celebrate how important salmon are.

“Especially on the Kuskokwim,” said Salmon State’s Melanie Brown regarding the importance of salmon. She hails from Bristol Bay and comes from a long heritage of fishing on the Naknek River and was one of the special guest speakers at the celebration. “Unfortunately there are some threats that exist to the continuation of salmon returning that are upstream threats from potential mining activity and also there’s some things happening in the ocean that are keeping king salmon and chum salmon from returning home.”

Bycatch issues, climate issues, ocean acidification, mismanagement at the federal level are also threats to salmon that people are concerned about and the cultural food source is being disrupted, she said. The potential upstream mine would be the Donlin Gold Mine.

“We are so glad to be here. We are so rich that the fish comes to us, when the fish come in quyaq them, thank them the best way you can,” said Elder Peter Atchak who gave the blessing and prayed over the gathering and the food.

Fresh grilled salmon was on the menu along with hot dogs, a delicious spinach rice salad, cheese potatoes, chips, and also salmon ikura (salt-cured salmon eggs).

“As people who live close to the earth, it is upon us to do everything we can to protect our river and our resources. Every time the salmon comes up our river, we need to have a river that’s clean so that they can go and spawn in the headwaters where they come from and sustain us for more millenia. Our survival as people as real people, as Yup’ik, as Dene, depends on our protecting our relationship we have to salmon,” said Gloria Simeon of Bethel. “Spread the word that Mother Kuskokwim is here, we are alive and we are taking our stewardship of our river and our relationship with the salmon very very seriously.”

Mother Kuskokwim Tribal Coalition’s Executive Director Sophie Swope welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming.

“This is such an important event to celebrate, the very thing that sustained our ancestors for millenia,” she said. “I hope this is a first of many celebrations that we have as the salmon return to our river.”

Melanie Brown addressed the crowd.

“I came in from Naknek, I’m getting ready for my Bristol Bay season. I think there’s people who that go fish Bristol Bay from here. I setnet outside the mouth of my grandpa’s old site. I just want to remind everybody of the parallels of why we’re here today. My river is the Naknek River. I started working on fighting the proposed Pebble Mine back in 2009,” she said. “I’ve been trying to lend what I know about that fight to this one. I think this is a really important moment for us all to have some solidarity between the proposed Pebble Mine and Donlin. I’m very concerned about the mercury associated with that deposit.”

Another special guest included Quentin Simeon who emceed the event and also provided music and song with musician Mike McIntyre, both of Bethel. Melanie Brown also regaled the crowd with her singing and guitar playing.

Folks won door prizes including a newly hung salmon net and were given the opportunity to sign up for causes and movements that they support to protect salmon.