Documentary Film Screening

Backbone Campaign is honored to show the documentary, Covenant of the Salmon People, produced with the Nez Perce Tribe by Swiftwater Films.

Tuesday, October 3

6pm

Vashon Theatre

Speakers: TBA

Free - Donations accepted at the door for continued work to Un-Dam the Snake River!

The Nez Perce is the oldest documented civilization in North America, with archaeological sites along Idaho's Salmon River dating back 16,500 years. The cornerstone of their creation story is an agreement with salmon to protect its continued existence.

Produced in collaboration with the tribe, COVENANT OF THE SALMON PEOPLE is a feature-length documentary portrait of the Nez Perce exploring how their relationship to salmon has shaped the tribe's culture, history and spirituality. As dams and climate impacts threaten to bring salmon to extinction, Covenant of the Salmon People traces the tribe's efforts to honor their ancient agreement.

Watch the Trailer:

“I have to say, when is enough, enough? We have turned as many dials for salmon recovery as we are capable of doing,” said Nez Perce Tribal Chairman, Shannon Wheeler. “Our back is against the wall. We need to turn some of the larger dials, and some of the larger dials include dam breaching. Now, more than ever our voice needs to be amplified for salmon and for the rest of the environment. We will never forget our covenant with the salmon.”

Speakers will follow the film screening, to update folks what they can do to take action to see the four Lower Snake River dams breached.

Co-sponsored by the Meaningful Movies Project, Vashon Theatre, Island GreenTech, and the Vashon Heritage Museum.

With all the work to do to see that the 4 Lower Snake Dams are breached, we decided to make a 2nd inflatable salmon - only this one will be even bigger, and will be a chinook, the king of the PNW salmon species!

Can you volunteer for a day and help bring to life this giant fish?  

We'll be cutting fabric, marking patterns, sewing, constructing inner tubes for shape, and more.

When: Various days throughout the month of October 

General times are 10-4, but other times work too.  Let us know when you can help, and we will work around your schedule!

*These work parties will take place at a studio in Olympia, Wa.

We are grateful to our resident/volunteer genius Rod the Engineer, who is leading this process, based on the pattern that another volunteer engineer genius, Rob, created!

Requirements:

• Able to follow direction

Helpful, but not required:

• Experience working with cloth, patterns, and sewing
• Ability to visualize a 3-d result from a 2-d pattern

Thank you for your help with bringing this important prop to life!

NW Tribes are resolute in their call to restore a free-flowing Snake River, to stop the extinction of salmon and steelhead. Let's support their work at an upcoming flotilla on the Snake River.

Friday, Sept 29 - Evening gathering, 6-8pm

Saturday, Sept 30 - Flotilla on the Snake, 8:30am - 2pm, with speakers

Hell's Gate State Park, Snake River (near Lewiston)

RSVP HERE

We'll deploy a massive Free the Snake banner on the water. Backbone is supporting this flotilla with a water safety team, as well as on-land and water banners and inflatables.  Lots of bodies are needed to pull off this successful event, and we'll have a lot of fun doing it!  

• This event is part of the Indigenous-led All Our Relations Tour.  To learn more about the different stops on the Tour, click HERE. 

Let's stand together to support treaty rights and the health of the Salish Sea bio-region.

Education is a Human Right.

Higher Education ought to be free. Let's inspire the imagination of the possible by getting these images in the national media next week.

Backbone Campaign is sending its giant inflatable debt ball to DC for a demonstration for Student Loan Justice, April 17. 

Pitch in to support this image getting there and in front of national news media!

Organizers are calling for the passage of HR. 2366, and the return of Constitutional bankruptcy rights to ALL STUDENT LOANS. We also are calling for ZERO INTEREST on ALL STUDENT LOANS!

If you cannot physically attend, please make a donation here to support these events. With your help, we'll get Backbone's giant, inflatable student loan "ball and chain" erected at the White House.