Milestone Activities are designed to gather student research from each region in order to help other students to prepare for the treaty process. For instance, students in Seattle will publish information about Washington State salmon biology, habitat, culture, fisheries, and treaties as resources for the Vancouver, BC students who will serve as Washington State delegates in the Salmon Summit.
Look at Student Work to see what students have submitted for this Milestone Activity.
The Milestone for Salmon Culture asks students to submit the following information:
1. Identify aboriginal groups that live in your state or province.
Optional: Show their past and/or present territory on a map.
Students research the First Nations peoples in their area, past and present, locating their traditional and current regional distribution. In many cases, this research will also show how the names by which they have been identified have changed. Students may record these name changes, which will be useful in correlating current information on the groups with previously published materials. Research for this question may also stimulate discussion of and further research into many topics, from the ways that cultural information is transmitted and understood, to histories of treaty processes that have influenced the creation of reservations/reserves, etc.
2. Explain the ways that those groups used salmon.
How did traditional First Nations peoples in your region make use of salmon? While this may not be a complete summation, it should point out both common uses that the First Nations shared and particular uses of specific groups. The research may point out differences between groups living close to the sea and those living upriver, for instance.
3. Document traditional beliefs, ceremonies or stories of those First Nations that involve salmon.
This question asks students to research and collect material on customs, beliefs, and ceremonies. Students may contribute outstanding examples of tales, songs, and descriptions of rituals and celebrations. As in the previous question, research may distinguish the cultures of the different groups, pointing out what they had in common as well as differences among them.
4. Document some early non-Native fishing artifacts.
Optional: Include photographs of items or sites.
With the coming of non-Native inhabitants to the region, the culture of the salmon changed. As part of their study of the non-Native commercial and sports fishery, students will see such items as labels from canned salmon, pieces of fishing gear and tackle, and machinery. Visits to historical canneries can be useful in providing photographs of such artifacts, and students may find old photos in their own family collections. Students should "read" such artifacts for what they reveal about the non-Native salmon culture, looking for evidence of ethnic diversity, including the specialized labor done by different ethnic groups, and the distinctive types of artifacts different ethnic groups have left.
