Within the Alaskan homelands of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsmishian peoples, there is a saying: “When the tide is out, the table is set.” Cascading from the highest peaks, down to the lowest tide, life thrives in this unique ecosystem, providing sustenance and nourishment for Indigenous and local communities. From the beach asparagus that pokes out along the oceanside to the salmon that make their way along the woodland rivers to their hereditary spawning grounds, the forest feeds, heals, and endures.
The Tongass National Forest is the largest intact temperate rainforest remaining on Earth, spanning 500 miles of southeast Alaska, providing habitat and refuge to more than 400 wildlife species, including some of the highest concentrations of wolves, bears, and eagles in North America. The forest, approximately the size of West Virginia, is also the foundation of traditional Tlingit lifeways, from cultural and spiritual practices to the food and medicines they depend upon — a tether to ancestors who have lived in reciprocity and respect with this land since time immemorial.
Now it is under attack. On October 29, the outgoing Trump Administration exempted the Tongass fro... Read more
