Grade Level: JrH-Adult Producer: Andrew Deiters Closed Captioned: No

Running Time: 22 mins Country of Origin: Canada Study Guide: No

Copyright Date: 2009 Available in French: No

The Heiltsuk and Nuxalk First Nations' communities of Bella Bella and Bella Coola on British Columbia’s central coast, consider themselves to be The Salmon People.

“I come from a line of commercial fishermen. As you know the Heiltsuk people have been here for over 9,000 or 10,000 years......we've relied on the salmon to survive.”
– Ross Wilson, Heiltsuk Nation, Former Elected Chief
 

Unsustainable practices such as salmon farming and logging are putting salmon and, ultimately, a rich and venerable culture in peril. Belly Up - Salmon in Peril shares personal aboriginal perspectives on the dire environmental issues threatening wild salmon, with the goal of illuminating unsustainable practices.

The Heiltsuk have declared, even protested, that they are unanimously opposed to the controversial practices of salmon farming. The Nuxalk have protested clear-cut logging operations and salmon farming in their ancestral territory, even to the point of arrest. Understanding why they fight to protect the land will help foster activism both nationally and internationally.

By examining these First Nations’ relationships with the land, Belly Up will educate and motivate audiences to consider the environmental consequences of their actions.
 

“We must protect the ocean for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the ocean for those who can't speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees.”
- Chief Qwatsinas (Edward Moody), Nuxalk Nation, Hereditary Chief