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 eleventh Wild Salmon Caravan will run this year in Chase on October 11th and 12th, with a ceremony followed by salmon feast on day one and the parade on day two, featuring floats and works of art from folks of diverse backgrounds. The event brings together youth, elders, and everyone in between – and this year’s theme is Global Solidarity for Food Justice.

Navdanya International is committed to the Wild Salmon Caravan’s 2025 theme, Global Solidarity for Food Justice, pioneered by the Indigenous Peoples of Coast Salish and Interior Salish nations on Turtle Island, also known as so-called Canada. As part of our own mission we are dedicated towards raising voices of diversity that are deeply connected with the ecological cycles of the Earth. Those voices that have lived with the land for eons and continue to live in their way of life, being and knowing in harmony with the rhythms of the Earth. It is Navdanya International’s understanding that solutions to the present-day ecological crises cannot come from the ideologies, structures, and processes that caused it. In particular, the ecological crises, climate change, depletion of biodiversity, financialization of nature and more, stems from universalized colonial and capitalist structures and models such as the industrial agricultural systems. Instead, we turn to diverse communities that carry indigenous and localized knowledge of living with the land, as relations which aligns with the values of the Earth. To reverse extractivism of ecological processes through localized traditional knowledge that protects and promotes local biodiversity and honours local food and land-based cultures.

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.

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.

By Ricardo Segovia, a PhD candidate at University of Victoria, Canada and a researcher/facilitator with the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty (WGIFS)

With Neha Raj Singh, PhD candidate at University of British Columbia-Okanagan, Canada and researcher for Navdanya International. 

Photos by Billie Jean Gabriel