ARLINGTON — The Stillaguamish Tribe hasn’t sent out its fishermen for salmon since 1985.
The tribe hasn’t celebrated with a formal salmon ceremony since some time before that. Even when other tribes continued welcoming the fish that are at the center of Coast Salish culture, the Stillaguamish instead focused on reviving the chinook run on the north fork of the Stillaguamish River.
This year, for the first time in recent memory, fishermen will head out to the river. They’ll beach seine for up to 20 chinook, then celebrate with a salmon ceremony that marks the advent of a new era for the tribe.
“Chinook salmon are a culturally important food source to the Stillaguamish Tribe,” Stillaguamish tribal Chairman Shawn Yanity told the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission in April. “We have not fished for Stillaguamish River chinook for nearly 25 years because we want this population to recover for future generations.”
The tribe’s salmon ceremony is scheduled for July 25.
The tribe’s fisheries managers submitted its fish plan to state and federal leaders during the North of Falcon process, which determines fishing regulations for much of the region. Tribal leaders said then that they plan to beach seine on the Stillaguamish River’s north fork. The announcement signaled not only a flush fishing season, but the advent of a new era for the tribe.
“We’ve done everything we can to recover the fish, but we haven’t done the cultural piece,” Yanity told The Herald in April.
The tribe worked for decades to revive the chinook run on the north fork of the Stillaguamish River, which had dwindled down to nearly nothing. Now, the run includes 1,000 or more fish each year, Yanity said shortly after announcing the tribe’s plans to fish the river.
While other tribes celebrated each year with ceremonies and feasts, and commercial fishermen landed chinook because of the Stillaguamish Tribe’s fisheries efforts, Yanity and his tribe held back. With a larger run returning regularly, Yanity said, the time has come for the tribe to carefully partake of that resource.
The timing of the ceremony is also poignant for the tribe because it’s scheduled to take place just months after three former tribal leaders went to prison for selling untaxed cigarettes on tribal land.
Ed Goodridge Sr., his son Eddie Goodridge Jr. and Sara Schroedl are all currently in federal prison for selling untaxed cigarettes. All three have held powerful positions in tribal government. Linda Goodridge, the wife of Ed Goodridge Sr., was sentenced to home detention for her part in the scheme.
Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422, kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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