Pacific Northwest Restoration

The indigenous cultures that resided in the Pacific Northwest lost things that even now remain outside of the understanding of the colonists that took over their lands and reshaped them in ways that leave them unrecognizable as the places that were here before. The far reaching impact these changes had on the landscape and ecology of the Pacific Northwest resulted in loss of lifestyle and tradition in addition to the loss of place. The sudden and unexpected remodeling of the landscape caused the lands that settler treaties distinguished as reservations to lose any value they may have had prior to the treaty. Nothing prevented new settlers from redirecting the rivers that fed the reservations or dumping waste on tribal lands in an effort to …show more content…
The overfishing of the Nisqually River and transformation of tidal flats into farmland by colonists, nearly drove Chinook Salmon to extinction. The efforts of the Nisqually tribe to restore the natural habitat and the establishment of the Clear Creek Hatchery has prevented them from becoming extinct. In order to restore the Nisqually River there were political battles that had to be fought. The results of the restoration project has shown the extent of nature's resilience, leaving hope that we may be able to successfully restore the environment in areas in an effort to renew the resources we have depleted. Unfortunately, the success of the Salmon are still dependant upon the hatchery; however, there has been an increase in wild Salmon in the river. Throughout the documentary much emphasis is placed on the river being restored for the Salmon, even though the ultimate purpose of the restoration is to provide a sustainable source of food for humans. Although this exemplifies indigenous beliefs in sustaining and restoring our environment, it is only a small piece of the picture of how things would be if the indigenous people were the dominant …show more content…
Environmental studies originated in indigenous cultures long before settlers colonized America, destroying the environment that indigenous peoples protected. Colonial cultures have regarded indigenous beliefs as “uncivilized” from the time they landed giving them license (in the settlers’ minds) to take over indigenous lands. The methods used by indigenous people to pass down knowledge were considered primitive by the settlers and the comprehensive view of nature as a living thing held by indigenous people was a foreign concept to the settlers. Non-indigenous environmental studies fail to recognize critical portions of the science due to the inability to account for intangible forces of the spirit of all living things. Re-creation or the idea of a second nature is not aligned with the values of indigenous beliefs, it is a philosophy that does not respect the spirit of nature, rather it imposes a colonist view that people can shape living beings to suit their purposes. Restoration of natural places and respectful stewardship of nature is the only solution to the environmental problems we are