Who We Are
The SALMON SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Peterman (Tlingit/Tahltan), Annita McPhee (Tahltan/Tlingit),
Kirby Muldoe (Tsimsian/Gitxsan), Ryan Conarro, & Heather Hardcastle,
with additional collaborators from the Pacific Northwest Salmon Coast
Elizabeth Peterman (Tlingit/Tahltan), Annita McPhee (Tahltan/Tlingit),
Kirby Muldoe (Tsimsian/Gitxsan), Ryan Conarro, & Heather Hardcastle,
with additional collaborators from the Pacific Northwest Salmon Coast
The Salmon People, by Alano Edzerza (Tahltan), contributing artist to When the Salmon Spoke.
In 2018, the Salmon Speakers first embarked on our ongoing Indigenous-led, story-centered work to help support Pacific salmon rivers and neighboring communities thrive in the face of climate change and the permitting of widespread Canadian mining projects without Indigenous consent. We wished then, and still strive today, to reconnect Indigenous bloodlines along these wild rivers of the Pacific Northwest Salmon Coast, nurture relationships with one another and the land and water, and inspire collective action to benefit communities within the Stikine, Taku, Unuk, Nass, and Skeena River valleys and beyond. As an Indigenous-led team, Indigenous sovereignty, equity, sustainability, food security, and food sovereignty center our work.
Alaska Native and First Nations people share deep familial ties throughout this northern region now known as southeast Alaska and northwest British Columbia (BC), where Tlingit, Tahltan, Haida, Tsimsian, Kaska, Gitanyow, Nisga’a, Wet’suwet’en, and Gitxsan people have lived since time immemorial. These historical relationships were partially severed by the creation of the US-Canada border in this region in 1903, and these “transboundary” relationships are further complicated by the increasing urgency of the climate crisis and accelerating, aggressive mineral extraction in BC. Large-scale mining has increased dramatically in the BC headwaters of rivers that run through or just south of Alaska into the Pacific Ocean, in part to supply metals like copper to the “green economy.” These threatened watery arteries sustain and feed dozens of communities, fueling ways of life and multi-billion-dollar, salmon-based fisheries and tourism economies.
We Salmon Speakers originally have come together to amplify voices on both sides of the US-Canada border and “put faces on these rivers.” The works on these pages represent our artistic and community engagements to date.
Alaska Native and First Nations people share deep familial ties throughout this northern region now known as southeast Alaska and northwest British Columbia (BC), where Tlingit, Tahltan, Haida, Tsimsian, Kaska, Gitanyow, Nisga’a, Wet’suwet’en, and Gitxsan people have lived since time immemorial. These historical relationships were partially severed by the creation of the US-Canada border in this region in 1903, and these “transboundary” relationships are further complicated by the increasing urgency of the climate crisis and accelerating, aggressive mineral extraction in BC. Large-scale mining has increased dramatically in the BC headwaters of rivers that run through or just south of Alaska into the Pacific Ocean, in part to supply metals like copper to the “green economy.” These threatened watery arteries sustain and feed dozens of communities, fueling ways of life and multi-billion-dollar, salmon-based fisheries and tourism economies.
We Salmon Speakers originally have come together to amplify voices on both sides of the US-Canada border and “put faces on these rivers.” The works on these pages represent our artistic and community engagements to date.
LEADERSHIP TEAM:
TIS PETERMAN (Tlingit/Tahltan), Wrangell, Alaska.
Tis is a lifelong resident of Wrangell, Alaska. Her life has been dedicated to her family and to serving nonprofits and tribes. Her background includes work as a public radio general manager, Indian Roads Reservation director, Wrangell Chamber of Commerce executive director, and tribal project manager. Since 2003, she has owned and operated her own business, Wrangell Research Associates, specializing in grant writing, grants management, and small business finances. In 2017, Tis became Executive Director for Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC), a consortium of fifteen federally recognized tribes in southeast Alaska. Tribal governments and First Nations face negative impacts from transboundary mines, yet are not included in decision-making processes. In 2020, Tis transitioned from her role as SEITC Executive Director into her current role as SEITC Special Projects Consultant. Tis’s current work with SEITC includes community engagement, strategic planning, advocacy and public relations, and coordinating tribal partnerships. Tis is a storyteller featured in When the Salmon Spoke, and her profile and additional audio clips are here. Tis leads the Salmon Speakers collaboration.
A few words from Tis:
I have dedicated my life to fighting irresponsible mining in the transboundary region. I was born and raised in Wrangell, Alaska, at the mouth of the Stikine River. My family’s roots are in Telegraph Creek, BC, also on the Stikine River. When a tailings dam breaks at one of the five operating/developing mines upriver, my communities and my tribe will suffer immeasurably. We know that this is not a question of IF a pollution disaster will occur, but WHEN. We have seen it happen on other rivers in this region, and we know it will happen again. However, I am also deeply worried about how many people in this region—including my own neighbors—are asleep on this issue. They don’t realize how urgent it is. I believe we need an initiative like this one, focusing on our people’s stories and histories of this river and the other rivers of this region, to connect with the hearts and emotions of community members, legislators, and even mining developers, in order to bring real and lasting change.
ANNITA MCPHEE (Tahltan/Tlingit), Tahltan Territory, British Columbia.
Annita is the former three-term President of the Tahltan Central Council (TCC) and holds a Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Victoria. She recently obtained a Diploma in Human Rights and International Advocacy Skills with the United Nations Indigenous Women’s Global Leadership School in New York at Columbia University. Today, Annita is the owner of Annita McPhee Strategies, which provides facilitation, conference moderation, negotiations, communications and other services to First Nations, government and industry clients. She has developed and delivered curriculum on multiple topics including: Lateral Violence in Aboriginal communities, Aboriginal Engagement, Business Development; Native Youth & Leadership Training. Annita has been an active Advisor and Director on several provincial and national boards including the Prospectors Developers Association Canada, Legal Services Society, Vancouver Board of Trade’s Aboriginal Affairs Committee, BC Hydro’s Strategic Aboriginal Engagement Committee and the Minister of Aboriginal Relations Advisory Council on Aboriginal Women. In 2021, Annita was named the first-ever Indigenous Executive Director of Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – BC. Annita is a storyteller featured in When the Salmon Spoke, and Annita’s profile and additional audio clips are here. Annita is the Salmon Speakers Community Engagement Coordinator.
A few words from Annita:
I'm Tahltan and Tlingit from Northern British Columbia. I'm very passionate about my land, my history, and my culture. I keep it alive through my storytelling, which is essential to all the work I do. This project is so important and it's about the place I call home.
HEATHER HARDCASTLE, Juneau, Alaska // Sonoma County, California.
Born and raised in Juneau, Heather grew up commercial salmon fishing and recreating with her family at the mouth of the Taku River—the traditional lands and waters of the Ta’aku Kwa’an. After completing her Master of Environmental Management degree at Duke University in 2001, Heather and her family formed Taku River Reds to market and distribute the premium salmon catch of Taku fishermen across the U.S. She also began to work with organizations striving to protect wild salmon habitat. In 2014, Heather helped found the Salmon Beyond Borders campaign (SBB) to defend the great transboundary salmon rivers like her beloved Taku that originate in British Columbia and flow into Southeast Alaska, and are threatened by numerous under-regulated, open-pit Canadian copper and gold mines. Heather is honored to now work with SalmonState as a senior advisor to SBB. Heather and her husband are the proud parents of a nature-loving young daughter and two border collies. They split their time between southeast Alaska and northern California, the traditional lands of the Pomo and the Coast Miwok People. Heather is a recipient of the Wilburforce Foundation’s 2020 Conservation Leadership Award. She is the Salmon Speakers Campaign and Policy Advisor.
A few words from Heather:
When I was young, I remember my dad telling an elected official that every proposed activity should be evaluated “through the lens of salmon.” He said, “If it’s good for salmon, it will be good for the community, environment, and economy.” Indeed, salmon can and should remind us to look for holistic solutions, and make decisions based on the input and ideas of many. As humanity endeavors to mitigate the effects of climate change, I am honored to be a part of this initiative. I believe many solutions lie in the stories, memory, and vision of the First People of the Alaska-British Columbia watersheds that are rich in both salmon and minerals. Their connections to one another, to the land and water, and to salmon can help guide us to a transition to a low-carbon economy that is just, upholds their indigenous rights, and protects one of the most sacred places on Earth.
RYAN CONARRO, Juneau, Alaska // Denver, Colorado.
Ryan is a community-based artist, educator, and facilitator. He's currently Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Denver Department of Theatre, and Creative Producer with the University of Denver Prison Arts Initiative. Until fall of 2020, Ryan served as Creative Producer and Community Projects Associate with Ping Chong + Company, where his Alaska projects include ALAXSXA | ALASKA (Off-Broadway; two statewide Alaska tours; currently creating accompanying Alaska Studies curriculum), and an ArtPlace America residency with Anchorage’s Cook Inlet Housing Authority. Ryan earned a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and MFA from Goddard College’s Interdisciplinary Arts program. Born and raised as an Army brat, he has been an Alaska-based artist since 2001, when he worked as a journalist in Nome’s community radio station KNOM. He’s led dozens of documentary performance projects across the state. His work has also been seen at the Kennedy Center; La MaMa; Dixon Place; National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian; Oregon Contemporary Theatre; and Stonington Opera House. Recognitions include TCG’s Leadership U Fellowship, Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Award, a Brooklyn Arts Council grant, and 3 Alaska Broadcaster's Association Goldie Awards. Ryan is the Salmon Speakers Artistic Collaborator.
A few words from Ryan:
I am honored to be invited by Tis, Kirby, Annita, Heather, and our other collaborators to co-lead this urgent work. Growing up as the son of an Army doctor, I learned again and again what it meant to be a neophyte--"newly planted"--arriving to unfamiliar places where I learned to listen find small ways to contribute. Since 2001, I've called Alaska home. I have facilitated story work across the state, amplifying diverse voices and unheard stories, bringing that "newly planted" approach to each new place. For years, I closely followed the work of SEITC and Salmon Beyond Borders; it's been a deep pleasure to engage with these organizations as part of the Salmon Speakers, sharing my artistic experience and my background as an interviewer and facilitator in Alaska and B.C. communities.
KIRBY MULDOE (Gitxsan/Tsimsian), Kispiox, British Columbia.
Kirby works as Indigenous Engagement Specialist with Terrace, BC-based SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, an organization dedicated to ensuring that the Skeena River and nearby coastal communities are global models of sustainability where large human and salmon populations coexist. Kirby works with First Nations, governments, communities, and individuals to help sustain the long-term health and resilience of the wild salmon ecosystems in British Columbia and beyond. Kirby specifically strives to build relationships, create dialogue, solicit feedback, and share stories and information with indigenous communities in and around the Skeena watershed and beyond, and brings valuable and deep connections with First Nations citizens in northwest BC to the Salmon Speakers.
A few words from Kirby:
This project is timely and it's urgently needed. The potential and real impacts of industrial activity on the Stikine River and other rivers is evident from the declining numbers of salmon. Salmon are a keystone species in our environment, providing food and nutrients to the entire ecosystem. The need to connect people from across state and national lines to join forces in collaborative efforts is key to the protection and survival of all salmon species.
CONTRIBUTING COLLABORATORS:
NUSKMATA | JACINDA MACK (Nuxalk/Secwepemc), Williams Lake, British Columbia.
Nuskmata (Jacinda Mack) is a mother, water protector, and indigenous artist and thought leader. She holds a Master of Arts degree from York University’s Communication & Culture Program, and a Bachelor of Arts from University of Victoria. Through artistic work and advocacy, Nuskmata speaks out about threats posed by badly regulated mining activity in B.C. She served until recently as a staff leader for First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining. Raised on the land and in her indigenous communities, she has worked with First Nations communities on the central coast and northwest of B.C. as a community organizer, researcher, natural resources manager and self-government coordinator on First Nations territory-related issues. Her advocacy and storytelling are featured in three recent award-winning documentaries, “X-Boundary,” “Uprivers," and "The Shadow of Gold." Nuskmata is the Executive Director of Moccasin Footprint Society and also currently works with Coastal First Nations.
A few words from Nuskmata:
I was raised on the banks of the Fraser River, at Xats’ull/Williams Lake, B.C. I have dedicated my life to protecting the land and waters through organizing, lobbying, educating communities through public speaking, film and performance. My motivation for this project springs from a deeply personal place. My homeland was changed forever in 2014 when the Mt. Polley Mine disaster occurred: the mine’s tailings dam collapsed, seriously threatening our waning salmon fishery and way of life. This is the legacy left to our children on the Fraser. We are still fighting for justice from the government and mine owner Imperial Metals, who have faced no penalties. I want to co-lead this project with Tis, Ryan, Kirby, and Heather, because I can’t bear to see this happen again. I have established professional relationships with Alaskan conservation groups, and I believe that this initiative is a good pathway to awakening people to the love story of the land and waters, and the human and environmental tragedies that lie ahead, across this region and the world, if we don’t change things now.
MAIA WIKLER, Vancouver, B.C.
Maia grew up in Philadelphia, where the impacts of pollution affected her life directly and spurred her advocacy for climate justice at an early age. Maia seeks to connect dynamic and diverse audiences on issues of climate justice and human rights through research, film, writing and community organizing. She was recently recognized with the CC Faces of Innovation Award for her work identifying the challenges of climate change as a youth delegate with SustainUS at UN Climate Talks. Maia is a published writer, her most recent work appears in Teen Vogue. Maia lives on the unceded lands of the Songhees Nation on Vancouver Island. She recently completed a master’s degree in Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, and works as the Digital Communications Coordinator at RAVEN Trust. Her research focuses on forced displacement impacts from mega resource development projects. Maia was named a 2020 National Geographic Early Careers Explorer, and brings this funding support to her work with the Salmon Speakers.
A few words from Maia:
I was born in 1992, the year the UN adopted the Framework Convention on Climate Change to bring the world together to curb greenhouse gas emissions. 26 years later, the recent IPCC report concluded that we only have 12 years to create massive change before our future adopts the worst possible climate change scenarios. In these dire times, the staggering biodiversity of this planet represents the diversity needed in this movement, a testament to the fact that there is a place for every single human to be involved and make a difference. The Sacred Headwaters region where the three most important salmon rivers, the Skeena, Nass and Stikine Rivers all meet in Tahltan Territory, is threatened by large-scale mining. I am honored by the opportunity to participate in this project and I hope it will bridge these connections of community, conservation and the natural world to our larger movements for Indigenous and environmental rights.
Nuskmata (Jacinda Mack) is a mother, water protector, and indigenous artist and thought leader. She holds a Master of Arts degree from York University’s Communication & Culture Program, and a Bachelor of Arts from University of Victoria. Through artistic work and advocacy, Nuskmata speaks out about threats posed by badly regulated mining activity in B.C. She served until recently as a staff leader for First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining. Raised on the land and in her indigenous communities, she has worked with First Nations communities on the central coast and northwest of B.C. as a community organizer, researcher, natural resources manager and self-government coordinator on First Nations territory-related issues. Her advocacy and storytelling are featured in three recent award-winning documentaries, “X-Boundary,” “Uprivers," and "The Shadow of Gold." Nuskmata is the Executive Director of Moccasin Footprint Society and also currently works with Coastal First Nations.
A few words from Nuskmata:
I was raised on the banks of the Fraser River, at Xats’ull/Williams Lake, B.C. I have dedicated my life to protecting the land and waters through organizing, lobbying, educating communities through public speaking, film and performance. My motivation for this project springs from a deeply personal place. My homeland was changed forever in 2014 when the Mt. Polley Mine disaster occurred: the mine’s tailings dam collapsed, seriously threatening our waning salmon fishery and way of life. This is the legacy left to our children on the Fraser. We are still fighting for justice from the government and mine owner Imperial Metals, who have faced no penalties. I want to co-lead this project with Tis, Ryan, Kirby, and Heather, because I can’t bear to see this happen again. I have established professional relationships with Alaskan conservation groups, and I believe that this initiative is a good pathway to awakening people to the love story of the land and waters, and the human and environmental tragedies that lie ahead, across this region and the world, if we don’t change things now.
MAIA WIKLER, Vancouver, B.C.
Maia grew up in Philadelphia, where the impacts of pollution affected her life directly and spurred her advocacy for climate justice at an early age. Maia seeks to connect dynamic and diverse audiences on issues of climate justice and human rights through research, film, writing and community organizing. She was recently recognized with the CC Faces of Innovation Award for her work identifying the challenges of climate change as a youth delegate with SustainUS at UN Climate Talks. Maia is a published writer, her most recent work appears in Teen Vogue. Maia lives on the unceded lands of the Songhees Nation on Vancouver Island. She recently completed a master’s degree in Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, and works as the Digital Communications Coordinator at RAVEN Trust. Her research focuses on forced displacement impacts from mega resource development projects. Maia was named a 2020 National Geographic Early Careers Explorer, and brings this funding support to her work with the Salmon Speakers.
A few words from Maia:
I was born in 1992, the year the UN adopted the Framework Convention on Climate Change to bring the world together to curb greenhouse gas emissions. 26 years later, the recent IPCC report concluded that we only have 12 years to create massive change before our future adopts the worst possible climate change scenarios. In these dire times, the staggering biodiversity of this planet represents the diversity needed in this movement, a testament to the fact that there is a place for every single human to be involved and make a difference. The Sacred Headwaters region where the three most important salmon rivers, the Skeena, Nass and Stikine Rivers all meet in Tahltan Territory, is threatened by large-scale mining. I am honored by the opportunity to participate in this project and I hope it will bridge these connections of community, conservation and the natural world to our larger movements for Indigenous and environmental rights.