PROJECT GOALS:
To support tribal sovereignty, climate resiliency, fishery treaty rights, and tribally-led environmental protection and restoration policies. The project ultimately aims to support recovery of the Salish Sea by:
1) Catalyzing intercultural collaboration between tribal and non-tribal Millennials and Gen Z youth to rigorously research, produce, and disseminate digital media highlighting environmental challenges and tribal rights, initiatives, and perspectives in the Salish Sea.
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2) Increasing public awareness of these issues through interculturally produced media and driving public discussion about the future of the Salish Sea.
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3) Building key alliances and institutional collaboration between the University of Washington (UW), Coast Salish Tribes, Washington Sea Grant and SeaLegacy; and
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4) Ensuring a lasting legacy of cross-cultural environmental education and effective communications capacity between the Coast Salish and UW.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES:
1) The UW School of Marine and Environmental Affairs (SMEA) and Tulalip Tribal Council will sign a memorandum of understanding outlining the terms of collaboration and proper approvals will be secured from UW and tribal authorities to conduct (virtual) interviews.
2) By the end of the project, at least 15 non-tribal UW and 15 tribal UW/non-UW students will have been trained in interview-based research and media production methods and created 10 digital stories regarding topics such as: tribal sovereignty, fishery treaty rights, climate change, tribally-led environmental protection and restoration policies in the US-side of the Salish Sea. Students will contribute to UW educational coverage of these topics.
3) Upon completion, digital content will be provided to school districts for incorporation into their state-mandated Since Time Immemorial curriculum and posted on various web platforms, including the SeaLegacy social media platform.
4) Coast Salish Tribes and UW will host (virtual) public viewing events, attended by at least 250 members of the public. Awareness of tribal sovereignty, fishery treaty rights, and tribally-led environmental protection and restoration policies will have been significantly raised in at least 50% of attendees (quantified by entry and exit surveys of attendee awareness). These events may need to be online given COVID-19.
5) A social media campaign coordinated between the UW, Coast Salish Tribes and SeaLegacy will aim to attain 1000+ views for each digital story within 6 months of publication, and the project collaborators will release a documentary capturing the significance of the cross-cultural collaboration process.
6) A student-led task force will create a plan for how to incorporate tribal sovereignty, fishery treaty rights, and tribally-led environmental protection and restoration policies within the Jackson School for International Studies (JSIS) curricula.
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7) Project leaders will create a strategic plan for increased educational and research collaboration between the UW and Coast Salish Tribes beyond the project in support of tribal sovereignty, fishery treaty rights, and tribally-led environmental protection and restoration policies in the Salish Sea.
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PROJECT STAFF (click name to contact)
Project oversight, capstone lead, UW student support
Project co-lead, capstone support, intercultural narrative guidance
Francesca Hillery (Round Valley Tribes)
Project communication strategy lead, cultural liaison, digital story advisor
Patricia Ortiz (Puyallup)
Graduate student UW Tacoma
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Communications co-lead, filmmaking workshop lead, documentary lead
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Project coordinator; SMEA grad student
Jade Dudoward (Tsimshian)
Indigenous cultural advisor; AIS/ Enviro undergrad student
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SMEA grad research student
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