Prioritizing Indigenous-led fishery governance: case studies from the Kuskokwim, Yukon, and Klamath Rivers

Pacific salmon are more than just food or a commodity: they are vital to the health and well-being of human and more-than-human kin and ecologies. Indigenous Nations have long maintained relationships among salmon, people, and their environments through Indigenous knowledge systems, governance, stewardship, and reciprocal responsibility. The imposition of colonial fisheries governance and the privileging of Western scientific approaches within management and decision-making have disrupted these relationships causing immeasurable damage to Tribes along the Pacific West Coast. Through case studies of the Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers of Alaska, and the Klamath River of California and Oregon, we examine how Tribes are working to reorient uneven power relations to ensure fisheries access, promote food sovereignty, sustainability, and foster community stewardship of local resources and salmon. Cases specifically consider how the devastating loss of salmon as a traditional food has contributed to disproportionate levels of harm for Indigenous health, and in turn, how revitalization of traditional food systems can advance collective healing and repair. Building towards greater Tribal sovereignty, case studies also demonstrate how Tribal leaders on the Yukon, Kuskokwim, and Klamath Rivers have persistently built and exercised political leadership and solidarity movements, expanding Tribal jurisdiction over their salmon, cultures, and food systems.