We Live in the Salmon’s World

Posted on by pugetsoundstartsheretoday

The animation, We Live in the Salmon’s World, connects us to the salmon’s story, Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest. Wherever we have come from, we all bring our own sense of place, meaning, history and how we connect to those feelings.

A vibrant illustration featuring a bear, fish, tall trees, and a person beside a river, symbolizing nature and wildlife.

The animation will be used with communities to set the stage on how, in this place, we are joined by water, the salmon that travels those waters. We will learn how we can care for our communities and work together on our shared futures.

A big thank you to the artists that created the art and music:

What is the First Salmon song?

A stylized illustration featuring a person standing by a river, surrounded by tall trees and mountains, with a large red circular design in the background that incorporates traditional motifs.

The singing and drumming celebrates the first return of the salmon and the start of the fishing season in a ceremony of thanksgiving, history, connection to those who have come before, and to sustaining the community into the future. It is also a promise to care for the natural world around us and return the gift of the salmon.  (The Salmon Ceremony – Tulalip News).

Why this animation?

King County’s Water & Land Resources Division Stormwater Services, and other cities and counties around the Salish Sea, are updating their approaches to public involvement. We will share this animation to start discussions with communities on stormwater infrastructure for fun future planning! And to talk about the small actions we can take to protect clean water.

An illustrated scene featuring diverse individuals engaging in conversation and storytelling by a river, surrounded by trees and mountains. Colorful fish swim above them, adding vibrancy to the landscape.

By combining infrastructure needs like drainage piping, stormwater ponds, permeable pavement, flood prevention, green spaces and habitat like trees, with what communities want such as public safety, affordable housing, safer sidewalks and roads, we can better co-design projects that support community health and connection.

An animated scene depicting a city street with three individuals observing a person standing on the sidewalk near a house, under a cloudy sky with mountains in the background.

We will connect with the living history of the Pacific Northwest, what that means to the Tribes that have always called this place home, and how those newer to our region are making this their home. Water and salmon play a starring role in this story of place, and if water is clean and abundant, and salmon are healthy, our communities will thrive.

Illustration of community activities, including a person walking a dog, people helping others, and kids gardening.

For more on Indigenous communities in Washington

About Tribes in the Salish Sea Tribes of the Puget Sound and Salish Sea regions | Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

For more on the Salmon People and their identify across the state: Home – CRITFC (Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission)

For information and a map on Washington Tribes:  Homepage – Washington Tribes

For a map and treaty references: https://goia.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/WATribalReservationTreatyCeded2010.pdf

For K-3rd grade lessons on First Salmon Ceremony: Primary Elementary – Pathway 3 Grades K-3 Lesson 4: First Salmon Ceremony

STORM regional network

King County participates in the STORM network for clean water actions. STORM (STormwater Outreach for Regional Municipalities) is a collaborative of over 80 Puget Sound Area cities, counties, state agencies and nonprofits working together to understand and reach our shared audiences for clean water actions. We work together to meet NPDES permit S5.C.2 for Phase 2 jurisdictions and S.5C.11 for Phase 1 agencies, partners may collaborate on general awareness or behavior change programs.

  • We use social marketing strategies using marketing practices for social benefit.
  • This shared effort creates a disciplined and science-based approach to public involvement and audience understanding.
  • Practice smart government through sharing time, resources and projects helping us be more effective, consistent, cost efficient and learn together.

STORM’S Vision – People living and working in our communities will take actions that protect water quality within the Puget Sound basin.
STORM’S Mission – To work together with regional partners to address polluted runoff by advancing broad-scale behavior change.

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