Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

November 8, 2024

Coast Salish Water Warriors, The Salish Sea Assembly, Day 3



'State of Emergency for the Salish Sea' 
in Seattle, Day 3

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, Nov. 8, 2024
Watch video by Govinda


Water Warrior Patricia Gonzalez, Puyallup, Screen capture Censored News

"All of those waters lead back into one," said Patricia Gonzalez, Puyallup, Water Warriors Council, during the Coast Salish Water Warriors Panel.
"If you ever need healing, just go to the water."

Back to the River

SEATTLE -- Puyallup Water Warrior Dakota Case spoke of his great grandparents Janet and Don McCloud. Janet, Tulalip, was co-founder of Women of All Red Nations and an organizer of the fish-ins on the Nisqually and Puyallup Rivers.

During the Salish Sea Assembly in Seattle, Dakota said he has been doing this work for nearly nine years, but he didn't want doors to open because he was Janet McCloud's grandson. He didn't see his great-grandmother out there at the rallies, in the May Day riots, not any of that, he saw the elder at home, teaching at home, and connecting at-risk youths with culture and ceremonies.

"Back to the river," he said, when his great grandfather came home from World War II, and was present at the signing of the peace treaty with the Japanese. One of the Japanese pointed to his own skin color, and then to Don's skin color, it was like, "We're the same skin color, what are you doing?" It impacted his great grandfather and he began talking about treaty rights in Nisqually, and this led to the fishing wars at Frank's Landing.

Don's little brother was Billy Frank Jr., well known for fishing during the fishing wars. "My connection with the river really starts there. We grew up fishing, and smoking salmon, we grew up living off the land." 

"What they call treaty rights is what we call inherent rights of life."

"We were created from this land and put here. This is our duty, this is our obligation to protect the water."

"We don't have rights, we have obligations."

One of those obligations is to raise the youths, with a connection to the river.

"Who are we without the salmon? Who are we without the cedar trees? Who are we as Coast Salish people?"

Listen to more of his good words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct0JKlCZtVc

Dakota battles construction of the Liquified Natural Gas Plant (LNG) in the Port of Tacoma, and the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project — both presenting a grave risk to his home, the water, and his tribe’s way of life. Read more.


Coast Salish Water Warriors Panel: Listen to the voices from this powerful panel on the traditional Coast Salish way of life, fishing, hunting, canoe journeys, and traditional gathering, recorded today, Friday evening, Day 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct0JKlCZtVc

The Salish Sea Assembly in Seattle. Photo courtesy Govinda Dalton, Censored News


Anishinaabe Morning Star speaks on the Anishinaabe way, and a life in the American Indian Movement, at The Salish Sea Assembly on Friday evening.

"I belong to the Creator," said Ginger, whose Anishinaabe name is Morning Star, during an interview at The Salish Sea Assembly. "You need to come to a place like this, where people are talking about what you feel." 

"If we don't stand up, who will?" Morning Star said, sharing her life in the movement on Friday evening, as the three-day gathering came to a close.

"We were with Leonard Peltier," she said of being with the American Indian Movement.

"Who is our sovereign? It's the Creator, that is what my people, the Anishinaabe say. I am Bear Clan, so the bear is my family."

She said the people had to rise above colonization, and learn who they were, through the culture and ceremonies. The men knew that they had to listen to the women.

"We had very sophisticated societies." In earlier times, there weren't teenagers as there is today, young people who are irresponsible. Instead, they went out and fasted, on their vision quest, to find out who they are, and who they were to become.

Honor, courage and being brave, these were the ways they developed.

Morning Star said 500 years ago, you could drink from the river, and there were so many birds that would darken the sky.

Black Panther Party Cub President Fred Hampton, Jr., sharing at The Salton Sea Assembly. Image Censored News

During Friday night's gathering, Kanahus Manuel shares thoughts on how she learned from the American Indian Movement and Black Panther Party. Black Panther Party Cub President Fred Hampton, Jr., son of Fred Hampton, participated in the three-day gathering The Salish Sea Assembly at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle.

Delicious seafood feasts at The Salish Sea Assembly. Photos by Govinda Dalton on Friday.


The Water Warrior Society organized over 100 actions since 2016, including attempting to disrupt the genocide in Palestine. In 2016, Coast Salish and Indigenous activists came together to fight the Puget Sound Energy liquefied natural gas facility, a facility that would endanger Puyallup citizens, their treaty-protected homelands and waters and surrounding communities known as Tacoma, Washington. -- Underscore News

 Friday Nov. 8, 2024 6 p.m.
Watch on YouTube, live and recorded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct0JKlCZtVc



The State of Emergency for the Salish Sea at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle. Thanks to Govinda for the pics.

Govinda's broadcast station. Photo courtesy Govinda Dalton

Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle. Photo courtesy Govinda Dalton, Censored News.

Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle. Photo by Govinda Dalton


Listen Friday Nov. 8, 2024

The three-day State of Emergency for the Salish Sea is broadcast live by Govinda Dalton. Listen today


The three-day Salish Sea Assembly, Nov. 6 --8, 2024, is focused on asserting indigenous jurisdiction and territorial authority to the Salish Sea, sharing the knowledge of "Water is Life: Protecting the Salish Sea / Stopping extractive infrastructures for export of oil and gas, such as tankers."

Today at Censored News:

Coast Salish Freedom Fighters: From the Alberta Tar Sands to the Salish Sea Day 2,  live from Seattle

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