Two Squamish Nation leaders were on hand last week when a U.S.-based forum on Indian/First Nations economic development presented the regional Coast Salish Gathering with an award for achievement in the field of native governance.
The Coast Salish Gathering, an annual meeting of the leaders of Tribes/First Nations surrounding the Georgia Strait and Puget Sound in Washington, was among 10 initiatives honoured at a meeting of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development on Nov. 16 in Albuquerque, N.M.
Chiefs Gibby Jacob and Ian Campbell of the Squamish Nation were among the presenters on behalf of the Coast Salish Gathering, which has been taking place every year since 2005. Chairman Brian Cladoosby of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community near Anacortes, Wash., also spoke to the Harvard Project board of governors, Coast Salish Gathering leaders said in a statement issued on Friday (Nov. 19).
American Indian and First Nations peoples living around the Georgia Strait, Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca refer to the waterways collectively as the Salish Sea, and in recent years that designation has gained recognition in mainstream culture.
The Coast Salish Gathering is a chance for leaders of tribes/nations to share ideas, cultural commonalities and differences and discuss their collective futures.
"Cladoosby, Jacob and Campbell highlighted the teachings of the Coast Salish people, the language, the culture, and the spirit that is contained within the watersheds of our territory from the white caps of the mountains to the white caps of the Salish Sea," the leaders said in a statement.
Added Cladoosby, "We must look forward with the support of our people to continue this good work, this governance structure that will create new policy based on the teachings of our past, the reality of our present, and the hope we have for our children's future."
