Our Homeland
Key Terms
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Estuary
An area where rivers and ocean waters interact, mixing fresh and salt water. Such areas include bays, mouths of rivers, salt marshes, and lagoons. Estuaries shelter and feed marine life, birds, and wildlife.
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Habitat
The place a population (whether human, animal, plant, or microorganism) lives, including other living and non-living surroundings.
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Schelangen
Word in the Lummi language that means “Lummi way of life.”
Explore: Reef Netting
A Lummi innovation. How does this netting system show the Lummi's extensive knowledge of their environment? Roll over the seven highlighted spots on the drawing to learn more.
A Lummi innovation. How does this netting system show the Lummi's extensive knowledge of their environment? Roll over or touch the seven highlighted spots on the drawing to learn more.
Rope nets are woven from cedar or willow bark strips. Grasses and kelp are tied to the nets to make them look like an underwater reef.
Net is dropped from two parallel canoes with two or more men in them. A man in the boat signals when fish are in the net. The nets are pulled up and fish placed in the boats.
As the salmon rise they swim into the net.
Lines and net create an inclined false reef that salmon think they need to swim over.
Anchor ropes and flotation ropes are made of twisted cedar strips.
Salmon swim in the direction the tide is moving. The boats face in that same direction.
Anchor lines are held by heavy rocks tied together. Lead lines float with the aid of wooden buoys. Side lines connect the floating and anchored lines.
Try These Questions
That is correct!
The ocean provides the Lummi with many foods, including sea urchin (Lummi eat the roe, or eggs) and cockles.
That is correct!
Traditional stories such as this teach many important lessons and values.
That is correct!
Schelangen is a reason that Lummi people are working so hard now to rebuild the salmon population for the future.
Story Project Planner
Choose Images for Story Project
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Image 1 of 10
Toggle Favorite Clams, another delicious food from the s...Clams, another delicious food from the sea. 2010
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Image 2 of 10
Toggle Favorite "There used to be a saying among our peo...James Hillaire, director, Lummi Nation Culture Department
"There used to be a saying among our people that when the tide is out, when the tide is low, our table is set, we got our food."
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Image 3 of 10
Toggle Favorite Reef netting, an innovative way of catch...Reef netting, an innovative way of catching salmon invented by the Lummis long ago. 1895
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Image 4 of 10
Toggle Favorite "Reef netting is a very old style of fis...Felix Solomon, Lummi artist and former commercial fisherm
"Reef netting is a very old style of fishing."
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Image 5 of 10
Toggle Favorite Good stewardship of the land is essentia...Good stewardship of the land is essential. 2009
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Image 6 of 10
Toggle Favorite "We are stewards of the land, the water,...Steve Solomon, Lummi fish commissioner
"We are stewards of the land, the water, the sea."
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Image 7 of 10
Toggle Favorite "We have stories of the Salmon Woman tha...
James Hillaire, director, Lummi Nation Culture Department
"We have stories of the Salmon Woman that brings her children the salmon to feed the people..."
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Image 8 of 10
Toggle Favorite Salmon is central to the Lummi culture, ...Salmon is central to the Lummi culture, including Lummi art. Drawing by Si Low Leet Sa. 2010
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Image 9 of 10
Toggle Favorite "When we were all fishing, it's traditio...Doralee Sanchez, culture education coordinator, Lummi Nation School
"When we were all fishing, it's tradition that when you catch your first salmon, we eat it and we offer the bones back out of respect."
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Image 10 of 10
Toggle Favorite Salmon are important to many species of ...Salmon are important to many species of the Northwest Coast ecosystem. 2009
Take Notes for Story Project
Take notes and save images to help answer these questions. Your images and notes will be saved to the Story Project where you can use them to create your own slideshow.
