Standing in front of a crowd on Saturday, May 16, for the second release of fingerling spring Chinook, Drew Trogstad-Isaacson, interim director for the Walla Walla Community College’s Water & Environmental Center said the annual Return to the River Salmon Festival was a celebration of water and natural resources. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and WWCC’s Water & Environmental Center co-hosted the annual festival near the community college’s baseball fields. CTUIR members, including Taylor Van Pelt, 12, conducted a blessing for the fish. Afterward, kids lined up to take a fingerling, place it in a cup and gently pour the fish down the chute into Mill Creek. Van Pelt said she thought the event also was a great opportunity for others to learn about her Indigenous culture. “I hope people learn to respect salmon and pray when you catch them,” Van Pelt said. Vendors at the festival included the Blue Mountain Audubon Society, CTUIR’s Fisheries Program, Mokuhanga Project Space and others. Another salmon release participant, Kaya Cope, 9, said the event was a fun experience. “I got to help release a fish, gave it a fun name, and wished it free.”
