People of the Salmon
I LOVE WILD RIVERS AND LAKES. FISH CAPTIVATE ME.
IN 1969, AT 18, AND A MIDWESTERN GIRL, I SAW MY FIRST SPAWNING STEELHEAD IN A SHALLOW STREAM I WAS FORDING IN CENTRAL IDAHO. IT WAS THREE FEET LONG! YEARS LATER IN 1991, I WAS ON THE NEZ PERCE RESERVATION. “NO FISHING” SIGNS HAD BEEN POSTED. I NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND WHY.
THE FOLLOWING YEAR, I ATTENDED “THE GREAT RIVER OF THE WEST” CONFERENCE ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER. I LEARNED ABOUT CELILO FALLS, HISTORICALLY ONE OF THE LARGEST FRESHWATER FISHERIES IN THE WORLD, WHERE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES FISHED FOR SALMON FOR 10,000 YEARS.