The land that I call my own home today, Bellingham, WA, was first inhabited the Salish Sea People, specifically the Lhaq ‘temish (LOCK-tuh-mish) – Lummi and Nuxwsá7aq – Nooksack , as well as the many other different communities who made their homes here or traveled through this land and water. This land that is now Bellingham is covered by the Treaty of Point Elliot, signed in 1855. This treaty affirms the continued rights of these tribes to the land, sea, and rivers of this area.

I feel deep gratitude toward the care and stewardship for this land by the indigenous communities here. I wish to be a partner in the love and care of this land, to be a student of the collective knowledge and skill of indigenous and tribal leadership, to become an advocate for the preservation, protection, and honoring of the land we share here, for my community and for our collective ancestors.

It’s our responsibility to deeply acknowledge and familiarize ourself with the unimagineably violent history of colonialism that has left no part of the continental United States untouched, and identify ways which we can, under indigenous leadership, do what we each can do to create wider acknowledgment of this irreparable harm, while taking responsibility for what we can do to address the collective harm that was done to the people of this land, and follow the vision of healing that lives in the heart of the people of this land.

Learn more about the Coast Salish indigenous community and what they’re up to in Bellingham.

“Children of the Setting Sun’s responsibility is to create and share Indigenous stories of gratitude, generosity, and respect. We empower the minds and hearts of future generations.

“WE advocate for thriving cultures and environment for all in the Salish Sea.

Mission:  ​WE support community healing through the natural, cultural and historical restoration to the Salish Sea for 7th generations sustainability as a measure of ecological health protection for all.

Vision:  WE are the vision keepers for a Coast Salish Tribal Heritage Field Institute: an Indigenous-led, 13-Moon, Mountain to Sea, Reef to Reef, K-PhD program with 7 longhouses in the San Juan Islands and 7 longhouses in the Gulf Islands.”

“Our Mission is to utilize Indigenous ancestral knowledge for the benefit of our Mother Earth, Indigenous lifeways, and for future generations.

We offer strategies and plans to protect Indigenous sacred sites, areas, resources, and landscapes,  and to promote the understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing the nature of Nature.”

“Salmon Need Water is a joint project of the Nooksack Tribe and the Lummi Nation. We hope to educate you about water and salmon, inform you of the adjudication process, and inspire you to take action to support a full and fair process to finally resolve the water disputes in Whatcom County.

We are neighbors in this beautiful place. We are working to leave salmon in our streams and rivers for our children, grandchildren, and future generations.”

This image is a capture from Native Land Digital, a resource that has compiled historical data to create maps detailing where tribes originally called home, as well as information on different treaties and languages spoken.

The image below is taken from the same area the one on the homepage was, in the Ancient Lakes region of Eastern Washington, and it is the unceded land of the Yakama people. It’s also home to one of my favorite plant friends, Artemisia tridentata - Big Sagebrush.

To learn more about the history of the land you live on and the people who have inhabited it since forever, check out the Our Home on Native Land interactive map below.