Spawning Salmon is an original painting by Richard Shorty. Acrylic on paper.
Salmon hold deep cultural, spiritual, economic, and ecological significance for Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast. More than simply a source of food, salmon are a keystone species intricately connected to identity, ceremony, governance, and traditional systems of environmental stewardship.
“My strength is from the fish; my blood is from the fish, from the roots and berries. The fish and game are the essence of my life. I was not brought from a foreign country (…). I was put here by the Creator.” – Chief Weninock, Yakama, 1915
