Stories of traditions, trends and events illustrate how life is lived around the Salish Sea
In the second of three retrospectives of news from 2024, Salish Current looks at culture in Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties through a sampling of stories highlighting the region’s shared history, current issues and future possibilities. Follow the links below to find even more stories about life here this year.
Three canoes await individual turns to ask permission to come ashore on the Samish Indian Nation’s homelands during the 2012 Intertribal Canoe Journey. Acknowledgment and respect are traditional protocols during the annual gathering of Northwest Native canoe cultures. (Richard Arlin Walker)
Co-director Ryan Tucker (left) fields questions with Amsa Burke, the documentary’s central character, after a showing of “Lynden” at Western Washington University’s Performing Arts Center on Aug. 1. The documentary follows Burke through her senior year of high school and the multiple racial justice events she was part of in the summer of 2020. (Matt Benoit / Salish Current)
A castle beckons, in a pixel art still from “Break the Game.” The film chronicles gamer Narcissa Wright’s rise and fall from fame, her struggle with mental health, the underbelly of internet transphobia, online para-relationships made real and the universal want for human connection. (Patrick Ackerman)
As program director, Karl Freske not only schedules films (and concerts), but often provides pre-show insights into the films before they screen. (Margaret Bikman / Salish Current)
The black cloud roiling up over Whatcom Creek when a gas pipeline exploded, taking three lives, on June 10, 1999, was visible for miles all evening; the smells of gas and burned forest lingered for days. (Worldoflucky via CC BY-SA 4.0)
Discussion around how to regulate event venues on agricultural land has raised questions about property rights, democratic process, agricultural economics and the future character of the Skagit County. The Saltbox Barn sits ready for an event in Summer 2023. (Adam M. Sowards / Salish Current)
Details about a November 2023 hunting accident that took the life of one person are were released March 7 by San Juan County. The county followed up in October with hunting safety classes. (Nancy DeVaux / Salish Current)
Raised on Meridian Avenue in Bellingham, Rod has spent his adult life in the Birchwood neighborhood — and has become content being homeless over most of the past decade, finding meaning in life when he can help other homeless people. (John Dunne / Salish Current)
Life became radically different in late 2023 from a year earlier for then-homeless Blake Spangler (at left, with Road2Home ally Mark Galvin). Not only did Spangler move into permanent housing but a Salish Current article helped him reconnect with his daughter after a long separation. (Matt Benoit / Salish Current)
Land next to Madrona Point to be returned to the Lummi Nation as a result of a recent land purchase includes five parcels immediately north of Madrona Point, bounded by Haven Road to the west, Harrison Point Lane to the north and private property to the east. (NOAA and U.S. Navy via Google Maps)
