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Native Activists Visiting Lewiston to Highlight Support for Dam Removal at Snake River by Patrick Henkels KREM2, September 28, 2023

Organizers will hold a smudging ceremony in Lewiston at Hell's Gate State Park
this Saturday, Sept. 30 at 9 a.m.

LEWISTON, Idaho -- Native American and environmental justice grassroots organizers will make numerous stops across the Pacific Northwest to voice their support for removing dams from the lower Snake River.

That campaign began Sept. 23 and will last until Oct. 1. This Saturday, the House of Carvers Tears of Lummi Nation will stop by Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston at 9 a.m. to hold a smudging ceremony for an eight-foot steel sculpture.

According to organizers, the art piece's design depicts buffalo, bear, eagle and orca "to represent the sacred connections that are the highlight of the campaign."

Remarks will be given by elders of the Nez Perce Tribe, Executive Director of Native Organizers Alliance Judith LeBlanc, Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment Coordinator Julian Matthews and former members of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee and General Council.

"Time is running out to protect our sacred salmon," Shannon Wheeler, Chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe, said. "This is a crisis that threatens our way of life, and it is a violation of our treaty rights. The federal government is failing to uphold the promises made to our ancestors when we ceded our lands."

"Restoring a free-flowing Snake River would honor the promises made to Tribal Nations, fight the effects of climate change, and allow the river to fulfill its role in caring for the salmon, orca, and other wildlife that rely on a healthy river," LeBlanc said. "We call on the Biden administration to do what they must to save the salmon by removing the dams and upholding the federal government's treaty commitments to Northwest Tribal Nations."