Commentary

Preserving Wildlife and a Way of Life

For decades, hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake River have been killing off salmon that must traverse them to spawn, Southern Resident orcas that feed on salmon, and the cultures of tribal nations who consider the salmon their first food. Through an intersection of bipartisan interest that’s unusual these days and once-in-a-generation federal funding, we may finally have a chance to end the spiral toward extinction for all three.

Published

2 years ago

March 9, 2023

Oakland Post

By Ben Jealous

Where millions of Chinook salmon would make the upstream journey from the Pacific to the Idaho habitat where they laid eggs before the dams were erected, in recent years that count has been in the thousands. The numbers are much worse for Coho and Sockeye salmon. Getting over the dams to the spawning grounds and back to the ocean has proven too much for fish who are able to travel a thousand miles to spawn. The orcas have less to eat as a result and there were only 73 left last year.

Not surprisingly, the dire situation exists in part because the dams were built ignoring the needs and the treaty rights of Indigenous people who consider the salmon sacred symbols of resilience and renewal. They have been fighting for the salmon with science and with litigation for years. Their treaties with the United States maintain their rights to fish in rivers of the Columbia Basin — a meaningless benefit if there are no fish to harvest.

These species are endangered; we’ve spent more than $18 billion unsuccessfully over the years to bring back salmon populations alone with the dams in place. As a tribal leader told me last month, “the government agencies are managing our extinction.” It’s a story that’s too familiar in so many communities that bear the brunt of choices that destroy the climate and pollute the planet from the cancer alley in Louisiana to hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico.

Those fighting for the salmon, the orcas, and the people who rely on the fish spiritually and economically got a new champion two years ago when Mike Simpson, the Republican Congressman who represents the eastern half of Idaho, unveiled a plan that includes breaching the four dams by removing the earthen berms that flank them to let the river run freely. He got a more favorable response from the Democratic governors in Washington and Oregon than from other Republicans in the Pacific Northwest.

Last year, Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray (both Democrats from Washington) added their voices with their own joint report and recommendations around breaching. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also concluded that circumventing the dams must be “the centerpiece action” to restore salmon populations.

The new star in this political constellation is the Biden Administration, who agreed to pause the long running litigation to look specifically at recovering salmon in the Columbia Basin, removing the lower Snake River dams, and meeting the treaty rights responsibilities. This new look at options comes along with the historic infrastructure and inflation reduction packages that President Biden and Congress have approved since 2021. Simpson points to them as the way to pay for his $33 billion plan. Replacing the electricity generated by the dams can be done with renewable generation. So is replacing jobs and revitalizing state economies through greener industries and tourism tied to the outdoors.

There’s a lot more work to be done, starting with the Biden Administration joining Murray, Inslee and Simpson, making decisions that work for salmon, orca and Tribal Nations. Their proposals aren’t perfect, but they are a usable framework to get work moving to deal with the dams.

Years ago, Colin Powell told me it’s more important in a democracy to find the thing you can agree on with people who otherwise may be political opponents than the many things you disagree about. “Figure that out and you can get a lot done,” he told me. I see that playing out on the Snake River, and that can’t come a moment too soon for wildlife and native cultures at the verge of disappearing forever.

Ben Jealous is executive director of the Sierra Club. He is a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania and author of “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free,” published in January.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Oakland Post: Week of March 8 – 14, 2023

Don't Miss

COMMENTARY: 3 OUSD Board Members ‘Set the Record Straight’ on School Closures, Budget

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

The Best Advice for Raising Children: Discipline That Makes Sense

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2025

Oakland Post

Headshot of Dr. William A. Thomas. Photo courtesy of Dr. William A. Thomas.

By William A. Thomas, Ph.D.

In many African societies, the primary aim of socialization is to raise children to be socially responsible and eventually provide economic support to their parents and extended families. Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Gyekye taught that children are raised to be respectful of the wishes of their parents and extended adult family members.

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Effective disciplinary strategies appropriate to a child’s age and development teach them to regulate their behavior; keep them from harm; enhance their cognitive, social, and emotional executive functioning skills; and reinforce the behavioral patterns taught by their parents and caregivers.

Below are some specific guidelines for disciplining children.

Listen to what children are talking about with interest and show them you understand their feelings. Remember, children mirror and learn about their emotional selves by hearing their feelings reflected back to them. Staying on target also means avoiding labels. When children fail to do what is expected, discussing it is helpful rather than saying how stubborn, lazy, dumb, or bad they are. By the same token, more positive labels can be helpful.

Dependability is another essential component of the discipline process. When parents are dependable, their children learn what to expect and are helped to feel secure. When parents are consistent, children learn to trust, that is, predict their parents’ behaviors with certainty. A child thinks, “When I spill something, I will always be asked to wipe it up.” A child thinks, “If I use foul language, I will always be corrected.” A child thinks, “If I take something that doesn’t belong to me, I will always have to give it back.” The ability to predict with certainty leads children to rely on their parents and the village/community in which they live. Children feel safe when they know what to expect.

Conclusions

It takes a village/community to raise the divine gift that is the Black child. Parents look to therapists for guidance concerning a variety of parenting issues, including discipline. Keep in mind that evidence suggests that corporal punishment is both ineffective in the long term and associated with cognitive and mental health disorders. When parents want guidance about the use of spanking, a child therapist can explore parental feelings, help them better define the goals of discipline, and offer specific behavior management strategies. In addition to providing appropriate education to families, the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists (Bay ABPsi) can refer them to community resources, like parenting groups and classes.

About the Author

Dr. Thomas is a licensed clinical psychologist with a private practice in the SF/Oakland Bay Area and Beaumont. He is a member of Bay ABPsi, a healing resource committed to providing the Post Newspaper readership with monthly discussions about critical issues in Black Mental Health. Readers are welcome to join us at our monthly chapter meetings every 3^rd Saturday via Zoom and contact us at bayareaabpsi@gmail.com.