Origins

Raven Borsey, researcher at a prominent Lummi Nation think tank (Children of the Setting Sun), joins forces with unexpected collaborators to help publish Reefnetters of the Salish Sea, the final thesis of world-renowned anthropologist Wayne Suttles.

Several of the 11 non-treaty (non-tribal) permit holders share their unique perspectives, revealing details about the first Lummi Island homesteaders, the reefnet fishery’s political structure and commonalities they share with one another and the Lummi Nation.

Only 12 reefnet fishing licenses remain today, and Tah-Mahs Ellie Kinley is the sole tribe member in possession of one. Every generation of her family has fished the Salish Sea, and she continues that legacy as a fisherman, mother and activist, protecting the life and waters of her people’s traditional territory.

Capitalism and industrialization spoil the oceans of Washington Territory, changing the Salish Sea forever. Following punitive legislation, environmental damage and resource devastation caused by a booming cannery industry, the Lummi Nation are all but removed from reefnet fishing.

The origin story of the reefnet, an innovative fishing method invented by the Lummi Nation and other Northern Straits Salish tribes thousands of years ago. Through a common technology and a shared language, the reefnet binds the people of the San Juan Archipelago as a source of physical and spiritual sustenance.