Keystone Nations—Indigenious Peoples and Salmon Across the Northern Pacific

This collection of eleven essays considers the interdependence between indigenous people of the North Pacific and the salmon on which so many of them have relied upon for subsistence and cultural meaning. They focus on themes of indigenous knowledge about salmon, fishing policies, water and fishing rights, treaty traditions, co-management experiments, and commercial cultivation vs. preserving wild salmon. The title is a nod to the notion of a keystone species, which is one that ties together diverse eco-systems by establishing nutrient pathways. In this sense, the essays also take the view that indigenous peoples are "canaries in the mine" for global socio-political and economic conditions and that their demise implies serious problems. This "enmeshed" perspective is cast over the biological and social connection itself, which leads to novel insights about how biological and social sciences can and must work together. Some specific essays consider lessons learned from salmon culturing, role of salmon in supporting indigenous Aleut communities, indigenous perspectives on sustainable use of resources, Columbia River tribal fisheries, and salmon and global capitalism. The contributors are participants in the School for Advanced Research advanced seminar, "Indigenous Peoples and Salmon in the Northern Pacific." Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)