November is Native American Heritage month. Drawing from a chapter in We Are Puget Sound: The Human Connection, this virtual event will be an interactive dialogue about Supporting Tribal Treaty Rights. This fall marks the return of the salmon to streams throughout the Salish Sea—and the 51st anniversary of the tear gassing of Puyallup fishers that led to the Boldt Decision, the landmark legal ruling that reaffirmed the rights of Washington's Indian tribes to fish in their usual and accustomed areas.
Tacoma’s Tideflats—the historic estuary and mudflats of the Puyallup River and significant to the Puyallup Tribe—are home to one of the largest and most productive industrial ports in the United States. In recent years the Tacoma Tideflats have been targeted for a methanol refinery, a liquefied natural gas refinery, more oil trains, and more oil barges and vessels.
Citizens for a Healthy Bay, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, and other environmental and public health allies are advocating that regulations be amended to cover the expansion of existing heavy industrial uses, particularly fossil fuel terminals, refineries, and large-scale storage centers while upholding Tribal Treaty rights.
Join us for an activating and interactive discussion to learn about the Tribal lands we live on, Tacoma Tideflats land regulations, and what actions you can take to uphold treaties in the Pacific Northwest.
Speakers include:
Mindy Roberts, Puget Sound Program Director at Washington Environmental Council
Melissa Malott, Executive Director, Citizens for a Healthy Bay
Chairman Bill Sterud, Puyallup Tribal Council
We Are Puget Sound is a book, traveling photography exhibit and campaign that is about celebrating the diverse people and communities working to restore the Salish Sea—and helping everyone find their place in this movement. This event is sponsored by Tacoma Public Library, Washington Environmental Council, Mountaineers Books, and Braided River.