Keystone Nations: Indigenous Peoples and Salmon across the North Pacific

by Benedict J. Colombi (Editor), James F. Brooks (Editor)

The histories and futures of Indigenous peoples and salmon are inextricably bound across the vast ocean expanse and rugged coastlines of the North Pacific. Keystone Nations addresses this enmeshment and the marriage of the biological and social sciences that have led to the research discussed in this book. Salmon stocks and Indigenous peoples across the northern Pacific region represent a significance beyond their size in maintaining the viability and legitimacy of ecological and political systems. Both species' futures are simultaneously a matter of the conservation concerns of natural scientists and the political agenda of Indigenous sovereignty movements that arc across the northern hemisphere. If wild salmon vanish in the North Pacific, as they largely have in the North Atlantic, their absence will herald the cascading failure of a complete marine system. If Indigenous peoples vanish from the North Pacific, as they largely have in the North Atlantic, their absence will sound the failure of the world's dominant political powers to recognize the human right to cultural expression and survival.

336 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2012

Reviews

[Michelle Boyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best compilations on salmon that I have ever read. If you are interested in Indigenous cultures, adaptive capacity, salmon, ecology, water and water issues, etc., then this is the book for you. I'm also biased--I have worked with Dr. Colombi at the University of Arizona as a graduate student--but I can assure you he is the leading expert in this field. You will not be disappointed in this book!

[Hamilton B. Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

A required read for a class taught by the editor, Colombi. Interesting case studies on the human-salmon relationships of indigenous peoples in the Russian Far East, Alaska, British Columbia, and the Columbia River region. Insightful into the impacts of governmental policies and the future of human-salmon relations.