Tribal Salmon Fisheries Map

For this activity you will begin with the resources provided for your breakout room (below) and build a map of current issues of concern for tribal fisheries in four watersheds in the Pacific Northwest. This activity will require a computer (not a tablet or phone), and a Google Account. You will work in teams in your breakout room and then you will present your map to the entire class in the main room.

You will be working on a single Google My Maps (click here) and building content in the layer assigned to your breakout room. Please be respectful of others and be careful not to delete or edit someone else's work without their permission. Make sure you are working in your layer (it will be highlighted with a blue line). You will need to sign into your Google Account to edit (click on the Create Account link if you do not have a Google Account).

The boundaries of the Columbia River and Klamath River watersheds have been provided to help you understand the relationships between the rivers; there is also a marker to help guide you to your river. You will also find the U.S. Census Bureau reservation boundaries added to the map to give you an approximate location for tribal reservations.

The map you will build is embedded in the website above and you will find a slide presentation below with instructions for building a My Maps. You will focus on treaty fishing rights and current struggles to assert those rights, particularly with regards to the role of tribes, tribal communities, and tribal fishermen in the political conflict over fisheries management, river management, habitat and dam removal. Provide links to your sources in the map marker information boxes, and add text, photos and videos for each site that you map.


All four breakout rooms will research and map the following for their case study - remember, everything you want to tell us has to be geolocated in order to be mapped:

  1. The location of the tribe(s) and/or Indian Communities involved in the fisheries issues and provide links to tribal government websites and discussions of relevant treaties.

  2. Important tribal resources such as fishing sites and hatcheries.

  3. Important cultural sites relevant to the story you are developing. Focus on cultural connections to rivers and fisheries involved in your case study.

  4. What is being contested? Are there dams, mines, or other environmental impacts harming the tribal fisheries? Are the tribal fishermen being prevented from fishing at specific locations, or are they being blocked from taking their legally mandated quota? Mark the locations and provide enough information (including photos, videos and links) so that we can understand the issue(s).

  5. Sites of protests and political action. Provide links to relevant newspaper and media coverage, and discussions on tribal websites, so that we can understand the perspective of tribal fishermen.

When we return to the main room you will share your screen and use your map to explain the issues to the rest of the class. Think through how you will move through the map while you present so that the story is place based and understandable to your audience.


Copy of My Maps - Create & Embed

The links below are meant to provide you with a starting point; you can research out additional material but keep in mind that we are limited in time and you will need to make sure that you have enough time to build your map and practice telling the story.

Please be careful of your sources, and make sure they are legitimate. Focus on tribal websites and websites created by Indian Communities, as well as legitimate news media that presents the tribal point of view, especially with interviews of tribal fishermen and representatives. Do not use Wikipedia except as a source of images.

In this exercise we are focusing on the point of view of tribal governments, tribal communities, tribal fishermen and tribal resource agencies. Think of yourself as working as an advocate or as providing technical assistance. While you should always make sure to provide only high quality information that can be fact checked, you need not use the common journalistic practice of seeking out alternative viewpoints.

Breakout Room #1 Nisqually River

You will have many resources to draw on from the readings and presentation from last week's class, and you will also be able to ask questions of the presenter. In addition, look at the following and think about the current situation with regard to salmon fisheries at Frank's Landing and other locations on the river:

Nisqually Tribal Government Website

NORTHWEST TREATY TRIBES

Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC)

Nisqually Tribe closes fishery following dismal chum returns

NISQUALLY TRIBE (AMONG OTHERS) CLOSES FISHERY TO PROTECT SALMON

Nisqually Tribe buys back land, as watershed struggle