About Salmon Homecoming

Founded as an incorporated non-profit in 2001, the Salmon Homecoming Alliance grows out of the Salmon Homecoming Celebration and Salmon Resource Forum, hosted annually by the Seattle Aquarium and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission since 1992. The celebration honors the fall return of the salmon and introduces local families to Native American culture by providing traditional celebrations and a holistic program of related environmental educational activities.

By late 1990’s, the celebration was drawing 40,000-50,000 children, parents, students and others, which placed increasing financial, staffing and other demands on the Seattle Aquarium and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. By Spring 1999, it became clear that the celebration needed fiscal and organizational independence if it were to continue, and so the Salmon Homecoming Alliance was created with the support of the tribes, the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, the Seattle Aquarium, and other stakeholders.

The Salmon Homecoming Celebration and the Salmon Resource Forum are the primary vehicles the Salmon Homecoming Alliance has to build stronger relationships between tribal and non-tribal communities and promote better understanding of salmon stewardship and knowledge of water quality and marine protection issues that are impacting the Northwest salmon. Through Salmon Homecoming, roughly 500,000 people have been exposed to the issues of water pollution and marine protection issues, and projects that are trying to solve those issues. In the process of conducting these events, Salmon Homecoming has been the subject of numerous television specials and countless print articles. The program has produced videos, curricula, publications and posters—all with one thing in mind: bring people together to learn how they can cooperate in the protection and restoration of the critical salmon resource.

Salmon Homecoming Alliance, P.O. Box 5086, Lacey, WA 98509