Salmon have returned to the Skeena Watershed, the river is full of life and, as is the custom every year, the Wet’suwet’en and their neighbours have gathered in the community of Witset to honour and welcome the salmon back to their territory.

The Return of the Salmon celebration not only welcomes the salmon home but also Wet’suwet’en youth living away from the territory. It gives them a chance to reconnect with they roots and to experience the bounty of salmon.

Although the celebration was relatively small compared to past years, the sockeye salmon on the barbecue was delicious and the songs were loud.

David DeWit, a leader in the community and the Natural Resource manager for the Office of the Wet’suwet’en, collected all the salmon bones following the barbecue  to be returned to the river from whence they came. I was honoured to witness the ceremony near the Witset canyon.

"We ask the salmon people to please continue to feed us," said DeWit. "Our lives, our culture, our language, our wellness comes from water and salmon, this is what the salmon ceremony is about."

Listen to the full interview below.