A feisty crowd of nearly 200 braved a snowy evening in Vancouver/Coast Salish Territories to raise over $7500 and hear Hereditary Chiefs and Elders from the Skeena tell the story of their defence of Skeena salmon and traditional territories from the proposed Petronas LNG project. Check out the event highlights on video: https://vimeo.com/207589370

Opening storyteller Victor Guerin told a Musqueam tale of a young girl who turned into a wolf, a cautionary tale about the need to respect all members of the community.

Luke Wallace, a fiery young singer-songwriter, wove images from his travels to Lelu Island, the Skeena River and the Peace River dams into his songs, accompanying the oral testimonies shared by Chiefs with musical illustration.

Richard Wright shared tales from Madii Lii camp, where traditional territory of the House of Luutkudziiwus is becoming a learning centre for youth and a site of intergenerational indigenous knowledge exchange. Chief Gwininitxw (Yvonne Lattie) spoke of the interconnectedness of communities all through the Skeena Watershed, and explained how impacts to salmon fry at the Skeena Estuary would have profound consequences for her people, hundreds of miles away in the upper Skeena. Tracy Wesley of Gitwilgyoots spoke about the struggle to protect Lelu Island. Chief Malii (Glen Williams) spoke of Gitanyow’s work to prove, through DNA samples, that salmon from upper Skeena watershed use Flora Bank (the proposed location of the LNG terminal).

In the words of Grand Chief Stewart Phillip: “They couldn’t have picked a worse place for this LNG facility. What an incredibly stupid idea this is to build this massive LNG plant right in the cradle of the Skeena River salmon fishery, which is the second strongest salmon run in the Province of B.C.”

You can get more info at: http://raventrust.com/wild-for-salmon/

We raised $3500 on this auspicious evening. If you couldn’t make it, you can still contribute at https://fundraise.raventrust.com/give/114091/#!/donation/checkout

https://vimeo.com/209020396