The Tulalip (pronounced Tuh́′-lay-lup) Reservation, home of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington, is situated along the banks of the iconic Puget Sound, just north of Seattle, Washington. The Tulalip and their ancestors have relied on the abundance of Puget Sound’s waters for centuries. The bounties of shellfish and salmon are integral to Tulalip culture. Since the arrival of European settlers, the Tulalip have struggled to maintain their rights to access these waters and harvest shellfish from the same beds as their ancestors.
The Tulalip Tribes’ identity is characterized by a cultural relationship with their lands. Their reliance on shellfish, like other tribal traditions and cultural practices, is derived from centuries of abundance from waters and beaches of Puget Sound. The potential loss of a fishery magnifies the destructive consequences of ocean acidification when viewed in the context of a culture with a “deeply ingrained relationship with the natural world,” which is already strained by European conquest, imposition of the reservation system, and modernization. (…)
Bertelsen J. M., 2016. “Fed” up with acidification: “trusting” the Federal Government to protect the Tulalip tribes’ access to shellfish beds. Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy 6(2):495-529. Article.
