Dear Gov. Ferguson,
As the former Washington State Attorney General, you know all too well the harm that can be caused when laws are ignored, which is why we are calling upon you to honor the values you named on the campaign trail and uphold Tribal Treaty rights. 170 years ago, the United States government signed treaties with Northwest Native Nations, guaranteeing these sovereign Nations the right to fish, hunt, and gather in their “usual and accustomed stations.”
The United States has created and enabled systems that violate Treaty rights by decimating salmon and orca populations – critical culture bearing life-sources. The survival of Sk’aliCh’elh (the Southern Resident orcas), like the survival of Indigenous lifeways, depends on Scha’enexw (the Salmon People) and we cannot afford to lose the wisdom under the waves nor the guides above it as we do the long work of restoring our land, water, and air.
It is not too late. We must urgently work to repair the harm that has been caused to Northwest Tribal Nations.The first step must be to restore critically endangered Columbia-Snake River salmon and the Southern Resident orcas that depend on them. We need you and your commitment to join alongside us.
The path to honor Tribal Treaty rights and restore healthy and abundant salmon and orcas is through implementation of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI). The CBRI, developed by the Six Sovereigns (four Treaty Tribes and the states of Washington and Oregon) in 2023, establishes for the first time a comprehensive, regionally supported roadmap to rebuild imperiled native fish populations, honor Tribal treaty rights, and restore healthy ecosystems while supporting a robust Pacific Northwest economy.
We are calling on you to ensure that Washington State remains a champion for a robust implementation of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative and the opportunity it presents to restore healthy and abundant salmon and Southern Resident orcas, and honor our obligations to Tribal nations.
At ‘A Majestic Matriarchy’ on June 14, 2025, I joined with Indigenous women, story-tellers, advocates, people of faith and conscience, environmentalists, and community members to honor the majesty of Southern Resident orcas. In September 2025, another journey will take place across the NW called ‘The Way of the Masks’ campaign, which honors the ancestral Indigenous knowledge that all things are related to, and through, xaalh: a sacred balance of life.
Please join us during our Olympia stop on September 8th and boldly commit to upholding the treaties. Will you join us?
We eagerly await and expect your reply.