<
https://civileats.com/2023/07/26/a-fight-for-salmon-fishing-rights-connects-indigenous-peoples-across-the-pacific-ocean/>
"In May 2017, Masaki Sashima, head of the Raporo Ainu Nation, led a small
delegation of fellow tribal members from Urahoro, a coastal city in Hokkaido,
Japan, to visit their Indigenous counterparts in Washington’s Olympic
Peninsula. Despite the separation in language, culture, and a vast ocean, he
recalls the striking bond between them. “These,” he says, “were fellow Salmon
People.”
For the Ainu, a people Indigenous to Japan’s northernmost island and its
surrounding region, salmon is king—as fundamental to life as the air,
mountains, and sea. In fact, shipe, one of several Native names for the fish,
is synonymous with food itself. “It returns to us year after year,” says
Sashima, “as though it were a promise.”
It was an eye-opening experience, he says, to see the Makah and Lower Elwha
Klallam Tribes freely exercising their right to catch salmon. Sashima insists
that the ability to do so is inherent to all Native Salmon Peoples—yet it is
wholly disregarded by the Japanese government. The restriction threatens an
already compromised and marginalized existence, he adds, and fails to uphold
Indigenous rights recognized by the United Nations.
Drawing on inspiration from Pacific Northwest tribes in the United States, the
Raporo have set out to reclaim historical fishing rights they believe Japan
extinguished 140 years ago. But despite commonalities in Native histories, the
group faces the upstream challenges of a differing legal framework, cultural
fabric, and colonial past. Nevertheless, advocates see the American
precedent—one cemented by government treaties and state recognition of
sovereignty—as foundational to their pursuit.
The quest, however, extends far beyond the basic right to fish, Sashima notes.
The trip also revealed how all 20 member tribes of the Northwest Indian
Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) manage their own natural resources—and, in turn,
their self-determination and governance.
“This,” Sashima realized, “is what we should be aiming for.”"
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-poverty-india-democracy-us-restoration-china/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
