For thousands of years, the bountiful land and waters we now call the Puget Sound and the Salish Sea regions have been a remarkably hospitable home for humans. Indigenous people established hundreds of permanent villages along rivers and the sheltered bays and coves of the inland sea. Today, these indigenous peoples are collectively called Coast Salish people, from their base language, Salish.
And, especially in the past two centuries with the arrival of Europeans and US settlers, humans have changed this place more than any other species has. This exhibit explores some of these changes, and how people today engage with the land—for play, work, spiritual grounding, and stewardship and protection of it for future generations.
We Are Puget Sound, opens a new window is a book and multimedia campaign that celebrates the diverse people and communities working to restore the Salish Sea--and helping everyone find their place in this movement.
For full virtual experience, click on an image to enlarge and navigate through all the images.
Take Care of the Land, and the Land Takes Care of UsPablo and Maura Silva sustainably grow certified organic strawberries from their Skagit Valley farm, without harmful fertilizers and pesticides. The fertile soil on their land is the result of thousands of years of the Skagit and Samish Rivers flooding their banks and depositing nutrient-rich soil across the valley.
(Photo by Harley Soltes)
#RecreateResponsiblyFrom enjoying beach walks to fishing the rivers that feed Puget Sound to hiking or snowshoeing in the mountains that surround the watershed, this region offers seemingly endless opportunities to get outside year-round. Recreating responsibly means checking the weather and being prepared–but it also means leaving no trace so that everyone encounters the same incredible beauty. Spending time outside observing the natural world–an opportunity open to everyone–helps us feel connected to it and each other.
(Photo by Glenn Nelson)
Connection to Ancestral WaterwaysThe Canoe Journey is an annual event in which Pacific Northwest tribes and First Nations travel ancestral water highways of the Salish Sea and beyond, honoring and nourishing their connections with land, water, and one another. Here, Samish tribal canoes are hauled out on the beach at Fidalgo Bay in Anacortes.
(Photo by Leslie Dorn)
Tahmina MartellyTahmina Martelly organizes resiliency programs for World Relief Seattle that depave unused parking lots, turning them into urban gardens for asylees, immigrants, and refugees in Seattle—diverting thousands of gallons of polluted stormwater runoff in the process. (Photo by Brian Walsh)
Sally BrownfieldSally Brownfield is one of the People of the Water, the Squaxin Island Tribe that has lived on and with the water for thousands of years. Daughter, mother, educator, food gatherer, weaver, salmon fisher, oyster shucker, archaeological digger—her story is rich with experiences. (Photo by Brian Walsh)
Kyle PetersenKyle Petersen lives on a small farm near Sultan, Washington—forty miles from the nearest saltwater beach. As a trained volunteer for the Beach Watchers, Kyle is doing his part to protect Puget Sound from habitat destruction and damage to sea creatures. (Photo by Brian Walsh)
