By Ricardo Segovia, Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Salmon are sacred — Wild Salmon Caravan returns to Chase to showcase arts-based conversation

Sep 19, 2025 | 6:00 AM

SALMON ARE SACRED. The family of migratory fish we all know and love are keystone species that sustain food webs across the province, and they are relatives to be protected through sacred relationships with humans that predate colonization by millennia. The health of each salmon and the size of salmon runs reveal the health of the ocean-land-river ecosystems in general. They have been a part of the cultural fabric of Coast Salish and Interior Salish nations for hundreds of generations.

The annual Wild Salmon Caravan, organized by the Secwepemc-led Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty (WGIFS), is a celebration of the sacred salmon and a critical forum for artists and the public to take a deep dive into the health of salmon populations and food systems in general. The 11th Wild Salmon Caravan will run this year in Chase on October 11 and 12, with a ceremony on day one and a parade/salmon feast on day two, and features floats and works of art from folks of diverse backgrounds. The event brings together youth, elders and everyone in between. This year’s theme is “Global Solidarity for Food Justice”.

The so-called trade wars with the US have highlighted just how precarious our food systems are and the theme for this year’s caravan emphasizes the need to transform our food systems from corporate-dominated and extractive to people-centered and land-centered systems of solidarity and care. The caravan is a public expression of the mission of the WGIFS to shift the thinking around land, food and water from resources to be exploited to gifts of creation to be protected. Wherever we stand, we can practice seeing the landscape as a sacred foodland for humans and non-humans – foodlands that we are a part of and responsible for. A shift in thinking may sound idealistic but can have profound implications for our behavior and the behavior of our policy makers.

The protection of land and food on a local level is strengthened by learning from, and being in solidarity with, peoples around the world who are working to protect their lands. Currently, people are being forcibly starved in Gaza, Sudan and other places, while many other Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities face food scarcity through poverty. The more we build relationships of solidarity and awareness of each other’s relationship to our particular foodlands, the better we can face the unpredictable forces of pandemics, trade wars, invasions and climate-driven food scarcity.

The art-builds for this year’s Wild Salmon Caravan have already begun with participation from community-engaged artist’s collective Ritmos Climaticos and a free community “Yarn Bombing” art installation in Chase hosted by Chase and Area Family Services and facilitated by artist Maia Skye that took place on August 29. Art is a way for people of all ages and backgrounds to engage with topics that can seem daunting. The community-engaged artists participating this year remind us that we are all artists – that art, like food, is something that is a part of everyone. As long as you can hold a paintbrush or weave a string through some wire, you can participate in community art builds and have the reflexive conversations necessary to collectively face global challenges.

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: December 4, 2025

15h ago

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: 16 days of activism against gender-based violence

Dec 03, 2025

Question of the Week

Will the amount of money you spend on Christmas be more or less than last year?

Dec 01, 2025

Starting the Wild Salmon Caravan with a Secwepemc elder-led ceremony reminds us of our responsibilities to the lands and waters, while the closing feast reminds us of the salmon and foodlands we all share. Salmon are worldly creatures that engrave their stories on the landscape as they travel from spawning grounds to the ocean and back again. They can teach us to see the connections between the lands, peoples and animals held together by the water. Based on centuries of lessons living with and depending on the salmon, a Secwepemc elder said recently, “As Secwepemc, we see the land from the water”. Seeing the land from the water implies seeing the interconnectedness and interdependence of everything. This Wild Salmon Caravan, like those that came before, is a celebration of connection through art, ceremony and sharing delicious gifts from the land.

——

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.