More than 120 leaders from around the Salish Sea met for three days at Swinomish for the fifth annual Coast Salish Gathering.

The topic of discussion was co-management of resources in and around the Salish Sea ecosystem.

Delegates agreed that it was a natural step, after the naming of Salish Sea, to explore the concept of equal and shared decision-making based on the sacred trust, traditional law and the responsibility we have to ensure our way of life as indigenous peoples is sustainable for seven generations and beyond.

Participants represented Canadian Coast Salish First Nations, Western Washington Tribes and federal, state and provincial agencies. The Gathering's environmental policy dialogue focused on co-management and explored the topics such as the legal, congressional, cultural and other rights of all governing bodies within the Salish Sea and its ecosystems.

One of the goals of the Gathering was to identify the next steps needed for co-management of the Salish Sea. Those steps included discussions about:

• Coast Salish responsibility to one another;

• Co-management, consultation and shared decision making; and

• Capacity and mechanisms to support one another.

A summary document for the Gathering addressed some of the challenges that lie ahead in co-management. It said:

“There is a difference of culture and a way of thinking that comes forward in discussions. Our relationship to the environment was given to our ancestors through the Creator. We have a duty to take care of this since it is our gift.”

In 2011, the Coast Salish Steering Committee and a volunteer legal task team will collaborate to study and develop a plan that will be presented to the next Gathering

It’s all about change, said Leah

Leah George-Wilson of Tsleil Waututh Nation has been one of the primary speakers throughout the history of the Gathering. She’s the co-chair the BC First Nations Summit and heads the natural resources department of her nation.

At Swinomish, she pointed out that in the USA, each tribe is a sovereign nation, but in British Columbia only a few First Nations have treaty rights.

“More than half us are not within the treaty process,” she said. “If we’re waiting for the treaty process to fix things, we’ll be waiting a long time.”

And, she said, fishing rights aren’t even on the table.

“We need to find a way to make that space to help create that change, to make that shift. The focus is not about “what it is that those Indians want”. It’s about what’s right - that collective ability to create that space, to make that change.”

George-Wilson, always a strong advocate for traditional knowledge, told the Gathering delegates: "Over 10,000 years of knowing is something… 10,000 years of knowing is science."

“We’ve got the name. The next step is co-management.”

That was a comment from one of the steering committee members from the Coast Salish Gathering as plans were being made for a late September event at Swinomish Tribal Community. They were referring to the official recognition of the name Salish Sea by Canadian and U.S. government authorities.

The Gathering will host a working session for Coast Salish leaders and environmental staff starting on Sunday, Sept. 26 until Tuesday, Sept 28. Its purpose will be to discuss and develop a shared position report on the health of the Salish Sea ecosystem and the environmental impacts upon the human health and aboriginal and treaty rights to harvest natural resources.

Representatives from municipal, provincial, state and federal governments will also attend the sessions.

Since the 2007 trans-boundary Gathering was held at Cowichan, it has become an annual event. It provides Coast Salish leaders, elders and other representatives an opportunity to conduct an environmental policy dialogue with all levels of government and to speak with a single voice for the protection of culture and homelands.

More info is available at: www.coastsalishgathering.com