“We are the ones that we are waiting for” - Governing Transboundary Waters: Canada, the United States, and Indigenous Communities - page 119

Beyond rights of access to marine resources for individual families, the political
reorganization of the Salish Sea basin has had dramatic impacts on relation-
ships between tribal members and non-tribal members, and between tribes
themselves. For example, the contentious relationships, known as the “salmon
wars” in the Pacific Northwest (Findlay and Coates, 2002), fueled the shifting
economic structures that supported competing for resources (as sources of cash)
rather than cooperation for subsistence (Singleton, 2002). Adding to the tensions
are the extraterritorial impacts of environmental degradation on critical fish habitat
(spawning grounds) and the negative impacts of global climate change on fish
populations.
In the Coast Salish case (similar to other Indigenous communities throughout
the world), social restructuring adversely impacts the cultural fabric of the
population. As such, the Gatherings are not just about addressing environmental
issues; rather, the governance structures have far-reaching goals that include
language revitalization and self-determination. Thus, the work of the Coast Salish
Gatherings is part of the process to reclaim and rebuild some of the internal control
of decision-making and governance. It is also about strengthening the individual
tribes and bands to think beyond the limits (geographic, economic, political, etc.)
that were placed on them during colonial times.
The Gatherings are deliberate attempts to rebuild the cultural structures and
characteristics of the Coast Salish communities. This work is achieved, in part,
through the “scaling up” of individual bands and tribes to a singular nation. In this
case, the process of reconstructing the scale based on wider Coast Salish territory
is occurring through the employment of techniques such as strategic essentialism,
performativity, and counter-mapping.
Challenging bounded space - rethinking citizenry
Analyzing the Gatherings as governance mechanisms provides three entry points
into understanding how reconstructed borders (and re-imagined scales of
governance) might usefully inform water governance. First, governance mechanisms
such as the Gathering can socially reconstruct a new geographic region (the Salish
Sea basin), thereby challenging and disrupting imposed nation-state borders and
facilitating more coordinated water governance across jurisdictions. Second, the
development of the Gathering is motivated by a concern for the social and cultural
implications of a degraded physical environment, and is achieved by reconnecting
(politically, socially, and culturally) with bands and tribes spanning the nation-state
borders and increasing capacity for improved water governance throughout the
Salish Sea Basin. Finally, the development of governance mechanisms based on
traditional protocol can help to reinforce goals of self-governance and self-
determination, as has been articulated by scholars such as Deloria (1984), Deloria
and Wilkins (1999), Little Bear (2000), Wilkinson (1987), La Duke (1999), and
Borrows (2002). Improved self-governance and empowerment will lead to greater
capacity to carry out effective water governance throughout the Basin.