Right now, across Alaska, nets are sinking, lines are flying, and salmon are being pulled from the water. Salmon fill our freezers, but they also nourish our health, communities, and ways of life. During the month of King Salmon, Łuk choo zhrii in Gwich’in, this is what the season calls us to do: harvest with care, feed our families, and pass down what we know.

As we gut our fish, the federal government is gutting NEPA, attempting to drown out the voices of those who depend on these waters. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to evaluate the environmental impacts of major projects and ensures communities can participate through public comment. This is one of the main ways organizations like The Alaska Center engage our members, and it is a foundational way to impact decisions. Now, these crucial comment periods are being shortened or cut entirely, allowing projects to move forward without broader knowledge or input. This deliberate move aims to silence our collective power, our ability to organize, educate, and resist.

Even though major decisions and their impacts happen at the federal level, our roots here run deep. We hold tangible power and responsibility in our own communities. Local commissions, utility boards, borough assemblies, and the state legislature are where many key decisions are made and where our voices are still heard. We don’t have to rely on the federal government to protect us when we can organize, build power, and elect local leaders who will.

This year, House Bill 233 was introduced to ban metallic sulfide mining within the Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve. This encompasses projects like the Pebble Mine, which would extract sulfide ores that cause acid mine drainage. A toxic process that devastates ecosystems and threatens salmon habitat. This bill is the result of grassroots advocacy from Alaskans of all walks of life who refused to be ignored. Their stories moved people and pressured decision-makers to act. HB 233 is the next chapter in that legacy, and a reminder that true power doesn’t come from the top down. It comes from us.

But remember, your voice is not only for resistance. It is also for celebration, hope, remembering, and envisioning the future. We all have stories to tell, and when we share them, we remind others they are not alone. Together, we build strength and power.

To celebrate and strengthen our stories, we invite you to Wild Salmon Wednesday on July 30 from 5-7pm at The Alaska Center’s office (3350 Commercial Dr Suite 101). In partnership with Alaska Youth for Environmental Action, we’ll build our storytelling skills and deepen our connection to wild salmon through a writing workshop led by Dr. Martha Amore, watch a film screening of The Salmon Forest, and collaborate on an art project that will be displayed at the AYEA booth during Wild Salmon Day.