Skip to main content Skip to footer unit links
← Back to all capstone projects
2010 Autumn | Arts & Humanities, Education & Outreach, Natural Science & Restoration

Tribal Journey: Monitoring Salish Sea Water Quality by Canoe

Student(s):

Brady Voves

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Eric Grossman

Partner(s):

  • US Geological Survey

Faculty advisor(s):

Richard Strickland, Oceanography, University of Washington

Since 1989, Coast Salish indigenous communities from British Columbia (BC) and Washington (WA) have participated in annual tribal journeys. These traditional canoe voyages, intended to exercise and celebrate the ancient culture of the Coast Salish, have recently begun incorporating science. Starting in 2007, non-native scientists representing the United States Geological Survey (USGS) began joining the Coast Salish to in an effort to understand water quality conditions in this ecologically and economically valuable inland sea. Although still in its infancy, the tribal journey research program has yielded tangible scientific and cultural benefits.