"The most touching moments of the celebration marking the beginning of the end of the Elwha dams were tribal. They were the smiling faces on the children of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe who danced, drummed and sang in brand new outfits handcrafted for the occasion.

They were in the voices of the elder women who sang along with the Klallam love song. Who couldn’t smile during elder Ben Charles blessing, interrupted by husky belly laughs?

But the most significant moment came when tribal chairwoman took the carefully planned event off script to invite to the stage Billy Frank Jr. to speak.

Frank is a member of the Nisqually tribe, who, like the Elwha gave up land to the federal government in the 1850s in exchange for the right to fish in the usual and accustomed places in perpetuity. It was a right that was taken away in the 20th Century by an encroaching society that had little interest in the Indians traditional society and culture.

Frank fought for the right to fish, beginning when he was arrested in 1945 for fishing his beloved Nisqually River. But it was in the 1960s, when he was one of the leaders of organized “fish-ins” that Frank and a small group of tribal fishermen changed the Pacific Northwest, Indian communities nationwide and American society."

Get the Story:
Rocky Barker: Elwha ceremony recalls how treaty fight changed Northwest (The Idaho Statesman 9/19)

Also Today:
Wild-fish groups to sue over Elwha River hatchery (AP 9/19)
Big kings return to reign in Elwha (The Seattle Times 9/20)

Related Stories:
Editorial: Removal of dams a step towards return of Elwha River (9/19)
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe praises start of dam breaching work (09/15)
National Parks: Secretary Salazar to celebrate removal of dam (9/14)
Blog: Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe's hatchery threatens salmon (9/13)
Lower Elwha Klallam to auction items from removal of dams (9/8)
EnergyBiz: Dam breaching benefits Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (9/7)
KLCC: Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe restoring salmon at hatchery (8/24)
Blog: Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe holds ceremony for First Salmon (8/22)
OPB: Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe keeps an eye on health of rivers (8/17)
Opinion: Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe could hurt salmon recovery (8/3)
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe welcomes dam removal for salmon (7/29)