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Cascadia Magazine SPECIAL REPORT:
Swanson Occupation: The Battle to Save Wild Salmon
Determined to draw attention to the risks commercial fish farms pose to wild salmon, First Nations Chief Ernest Alfred occupied a a remote island in British Columbia’s Broughton Archipelago for 284 days. In doing so, he launched a legal battle with the world’s largest salmon-farming corporation
On assignment for Casdcadia Magazine, investigative journalist Mychaylo Prystupa spent time in this gorgeous corner of Vancouver Island where the ‘Namgis First Nation has been in conflict with Marine Harvest, a Norwegian corporation that operates 34 open-net fish farms in BC. Indigenous activists and biologists point to studies that suggest viruses that are common in fish farms can spread to wild salmon.
Now online at Cascadia Magazine, read Mychaylo’s investigative article, fantastic photos, and Cascadia Magazine’s first video production. Click on any of the photos to read the article and view the video.
The feature is especially timely–as the BC government announced yesterday that it will engage in formal talks with First Nations, including the ‘Namgis about the future of fish farms in Broughton Inslet. Some worry that a recent announcement from British Columbia’s government on future fish farm permits is too weak and too late.
Read the full article and watch the video online at Cascadia Magazine.
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And to our supporting readers, THANK YOU for making reporting like this possible.
Cascadia Magazine original: Safe Injection Sites Saves Lives
Facing a crisis of drug overdose fatalities, Seattle is considering opening a safe consumption site. Though controversial, the sites have a proven track record of reducing overdose deaths. Read about the debate in Kelsey Hamlin’s feature at Cascadia Magazine, accompanied by Jackie Dives’ amazing photos from the Overdose Prevention Society site in Vancouver, and Travis Lupick’s story of the creation of the first safe injection site in Vancouver 15 years ago.
Will Canada allow fish farms to continue?
Writing for the Times Colonist, Les Leyne believes BC’s recent announcement on renewal of fish farms licenses means that Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans won’t approve new permits beyond 2022. “The First Nations veto will be the major hurdle for farms in the Broughton Archipelago, where current Indigenous leaders are defiantly opposed.”
Federal police end blockade of Portland ICE building
OPB reports that a blockade of a Portland ICE facility by protesters opposed to the “zero tolerance” immigration policy ended today as federal agents made arrests and cleared the encampment. Willamette Week has more on the standoff. Meanwhile, in southern Oregon, Josephine County announced it was ending a contract between ICE and its jail.
BC casinos implicated in money laundering operations
The Tyee reports on the growing scandal over British Columbia casinos that laundered over $100 million for criminal groups, according to a scathing report issued this week. The Star Vancouver reports that the author of the report is now looking into money laundering in Vancouver’s booming real estate industry.
NRA succeeds in stalling Oregon gun safety initiatives
The Portland Mercury reports that after an intense legal challenge by the National Rifle Association, two gun safety measures might not be headed to the ballot in Oregon this fall. ““The gun lobby is just trying to run us out of time,” says Penny Okamoto, who works on the IP 43 campaign.”
British Columbia writers on food and sustenance
BC BookLook has a review of a new collection, Sustenance: Writers from BC and Beyond on the Subject of Food, edited by Vancouver poet (and Cascadia Magazine associate editor) Rachel Rose. The illustrated book offers a culturally diverse assortment of essays, poems, and thoughts about the power of food by 252 contributors from Western Canada and beyond.
“On Skin Whitening Days,” poetry by Lok Fung
Seattle Review of Books’ poet-in-residence this month is Lok Fung, and you can read a bilingual edition of “On Skin Whitening Days” online. It’s a sharp, humorous poem:
“On skin-whitening days
I politely refuse to go out
because I’m afraid of the light
and can’t handle my friends’ glittering lenses…”
Read the full poem here.
That’s today’s assortment of news, arts, and culture from across the Cascadia bioregion. Have a great evening! –Andrew Engelson
Photo credits: chief Ernest Alfred by Mychaylo Prystupa