Salmon Nation: Chapter Summaries and Reflections

Salmon Nation

Introduction/Chapter 1: Recalling Celilo

This chapter, written by Elizabeth Woddy, focused on the history of salmon in the northwest. Celilo falls was an important a remarkable sight of the past.  It was a place where gigantic salmon thrived, and which Native Americans lived off of and worshiped. Celilo means “echo of falling water” or “sound of water upon rock”. In 1957 the Dalles Dam was constructed, which flooded the falls and dramatically altered the habitat for the salmon in the Columbia River. This chapter stresses the importance of the salmon on communities and how their downfall would be a catastrophe. The map diagram of California is informative about the relationship between salmon and population density: areas surrounding the salmon runs were more densely populated.

It was great to learn about the salmon from the perspective of someone who has found such a significant importance in them. The salmon were a huge part of the lives of the Wyampum tribe, which I found to be really fascinating. The way that she discussed the building of the dam made it seem like a horrific tragedy, which is a different perspective than I often hear. This chapter got me excited about reading this book. The short and easy to read chapters with pictures is like a huge breath of fresh air in comparison to my normal reading for classes.

           

Chapter 2: Muddied Waters, Muddled Thinking

This chapter is dedicated to how human actions affect the rivers and the salmon. What I believe the main point that they were trying to get across is that “Everything that happens to flowing water, from the ridgetop to rivulet to the river itself, affects the health of the salmon”. When the early settlers migrated to the west coast, some showed regard to how they might harm nature but many others did not. Logging, cattle grazing, the constructions of roads, dams, the canning of fish, and various other activities of the settlers had devastating effects on the salmon population. When it was realized how these things were putting the salmon and steelhead populations in danger, humans thought that they would find a way to save the fish without stopping their ways. Fisheries were originally were thought to be the supreme way of breeding fish in comparison to nature, because “so much less goes to waste”. Biologists finally realized that this was wrong; fisheries are actually harmful to the wild fish population. Our dependence on the things that are harmful to the fish and rivers has made it difficult to create change.

This chapter brought some questions to my mind: Have humans finally realized that it’s not a good idea to mess with nature? Will we stop harming the bodies of water in time to save the endangered species? I think that it is absolutely absurd how naïve we are when it comes to protecting nature. People need to realize that nature has its ways of maintaining it’s delicate balances, and that it is best if we do not interfere. I found it interesting to read about the detail of exactly how we are harming the salmon and their habit, and how we did so unintentionally throughout the years. I have gained a deeper understanding of the problems we have created in relations to salmon, and it has deepened my resentment of the way we humans treat nature so poorly. I found the information on logging to be the most interesting and infuriating part of the chapter.

Chapter 3: Ghost Town

Many communities, such as the example of the canning town Namu given in this short essay, have been dependent on the salmon. Many changes in technology (i.e. fishing vessels and dams) have caused communities such as Namu to be abandoned. The salmon shortages are due to humans not treating the rivers or salmon respectfully. Many species of salmon and steelhead have become extinct from this, which has not only altered ecosystems but also human communities. Lawsuits, violence, and a verity of conflicts have arisen from the problems concerning the low numbers of fish. Many fisheries have been created in attempt to rectify the problems, particularly in lower British Columbia. These fisheries have tried to replace the wild fish with farmed fish, but the farmed fish have only made the situations worse. Before all the upswing of dams and other harmful things, the salmon gave communities so much that we had stronger reasons to protect them.

I think the most important thing that was said in the article was that “one could not design a better creature to base culture than the salmon”. They are such hardworking and amazing animals, that many communities have indeed based their culture off of them. The destruction of salmon species and habitat has ruined these communities. I agree with this article that we should not have huge fishing vessels and high-tech equipment to catch salmon. These things are expensive for fisherman, and it just makes catching salmon a competition among fishermen. If there weren’t so many hatchery fish flooding the market, then fishermen could make just as much money catching a smaller amount of wild fish, and everyone would be better off. Like you said Professor Hunt, maybe someone should just go blow up the fisheries with bombs.

Portfolio: The Six Species of Salmon Nation

Salmon live not just in the stream, but also in watersheds, which are areas that flow into a particular stream. Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink, and Sockeye salmon, along with sea-going steelhead and cutthroat trout, live in the North American west coast. Chinook numbers are increasing in Alaska, but are not doing very well in many other regions. There are high numbers of Chum, but lots of them are hatchery. The Coho are threatened in Oregon and California, but doing fine beside that. Pink are dong fine everywhere, for the most part. Sockeye, the beautiful red salmon, have a threatened run in Washington and are endangered on the Snake river, but otherwise are doing fine and doing very well in Alaska. Steelhead populations are declining from California to the Puget Sound.

I found the map diagrams in this section to be both informative and visually stimulating. To me it does not seem like a coincidence that the more north you go, the fewer species are endangered/threatened. I think that this primarily because there are less people around to ruin their habit. I like how this chapter gave me the opportunity to compare the different species in both how they look and the locations that they are/aren’t thriving.

Chapter 4: Keep the Gift Moving

            This chapter is the personal story of a man who worked as a commercial fisherman. In this novel-like chapter he shares his feelings, experiences, and knowledge about commercial fishing. There are several types of commercial fishing nets and techniques, some of which are somewhat similar to what the Native Americans used. It doesn’t make sense that fishermen buy such big and expensive equipment, because they will just need to catch greater amounts of fish to pay off their debt. Commercial fishing can be very dangerous and also takes the spiritual aspect out of fishing. The salmon, which are so important to us and are other living creatures, are simply treated as if they are nothing but product to sell for money.

My favorite quote in this chapter is “ By denying ourselves the perception of our relation to the creatures dying on deck, we were in some essential way denying ourselves wholeness of being”. I think that the chapter really accurately explains how the ways of commercial fishing has become so bad and how they should be in some ways reverted to those of earlier generations. Being a fisherman in today’s world is a difficult and unstable career. I think that needs to be changed, even if that means the government giving aid to fishermen. I found the diagram that explained all the different types of fishing rigs to be interesting. I enjoyed this story and think I learned valuable information from it, but I’m afraid that a lot of it was bias and too personal to believe without skepticism.  

           

Chapter 5: Toward a New Salmon Economy

            This chapter focuses on the good things that have been happening to salmon. People have been creating better habitat for them. Some people have even started sustainably and beneficially farming wild salmon in areas of need. Watershed and restoration groups have been created along California, Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. These groups are focusing on all different types of projects in attempt to assist the salmon populations. We have been learning to live in a more sustainable way with nature and salmon. Positive effects are being seen from these efforts, and there is hope for the salmon. People should not blame one another for the depletion of salmon, but should work together and to try to rectify it.

            This was a good reflection and conclusion to Salmon Nation. It gave me an overall sense of understanding of the problems and possible solutions regarding salmon. I feel like I have gained a new appreciation for salmon from reading this book and this chapter toped it off. I now know how very important salmon are to different communities and what amazing creatures they are. I see a light at the end of the tunnel full of darkness, salmon will live on. Overall, I have learned more about salmon by reading this book than I ever thought that I would know about them. Salmon Nation was a great introduction to my knowledge about them.

Article Summary and Reflection: America’s Living Oceans: Charting a Course for Sea Change

America’s Living Oceans: Charting a Course for Sea Change

The article America’s Living Oceans was written by the Pew Oceans Commission in May of 2003. The article starts by pointing out how important the oceans are and how dependent we, and all living things, are upon them. It then goes into detail about how poorly we have been treating them, and the problems that this is causing.  It briefly speaks of the “hodgepodge of ocean laws and programs that do not provide unified, clearly stated goals and measurable objectives”, what successes and failures they have had, and how they are not as effective as they were thirty years ago. They strongly believe that change must occur in order for future generation to be able to enjoy the benefits of a healthy ocean, which is a main objective of their organization. They have traveled along the coastal regions to determine the problems and try to find solutions. They have also come up with a list of objectives to help the ocean and a list of recommendations to meet these goals.

This was an interesting and well-written article that I think should be read by many people. I learned a lot from reading it, including the existence of the Pew Oceans Commission and their objectives. From what they said, I think that they are doing very important work, and deserve the full support the US government and people. One thing that I think could be improved upon is in their objectives to rescue the ocean. I thought that their objective list was incomplete and that much could be added to it, along with their recommendations to meet these objectives. The fact that I found most interesting in this article was the dependence of the economy on the ocean’s health. Before the beginning of this class I have never thought about how the ocean’s health affects anything other than the fish and the amount of litter on the beach. This article has given me a stronger understanding of ocean related problems and regulations.

HIV, AIDS and Tuberculosis

Lauren Berg

SOC 420

First Midterm

4/18/12

HIV, AIDS and Tuberculosis

            The global inequality of acquired immune deficiency syndrome and tuberculosis infections is astonishing. Most of the people who are infected with these diseases have been infected because of an economic disadvantage. Those in poverty are also the most in need of treatment for their illnesses, but are unlikely to have access to it. Most developed nations give little regard towards the people in the world who are becoming infected, not getting treated, infecting others, and dying. The global north, prescription drug companies, and medical professionals need to step up and help put an end to the expansive inequalities surrounding these infectious diseases. However important money and treatments are to putting an end to the epidemics, they will not successfully end the epidemics unless they are accompanied with social understanding of the problems and the dynamics of the societies. 

            HIV/AIDS is most typically seen in large cities, areas with large numbers of prostitutes, areas of pronounced drug usage, and is especially prevalent in poor parts of the world. HIV, which is primarily spread through sexual intercourse, has prevalence rates directly related to the sexual habits of societies. After it infects a city, it then will typically spread into the surrounding rural areas. It has affected nearly every region of the world, killing people everywhere it goes.

            Contrary to the theories that have originated throughout the years about the origin of tuberculosis, such as it is “triggered by voodoo practices” or that it is “brought from the US homosexual population”, the origin remains unknown (Farmer 2001). Tuberculosis is a very contagious disease, in which bacteria are spread through coughing. Most people who live in economically deprived countries, such as Haiti, are exposed to it. If the individual who is exposed is generally healthy, they will most likely develop immunity without the symptoms of the disease. If a healthy person does contract the disease, it will be curable. People who already have compromised immune systems have a much more difficult time fighting it off. People with AIDS will get very ill if they contract tuberculosis, usually suffering from pulmonary complications and weight loss. Tuberculosis is very difficult to cure in a person who has AIDS, and it is often fatal.

            Treatment for HIV, AIDS, and tuberculosis exists, but not for everyone. Medical care for the poor is not easy to come by. For example in Haiti in the eighties the “nationwide physician-to-population ratio was 18 physicians to 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 250 physicians per 100,000 in the United States” (Farmer 2001). On top of the difficulty finding any medical care, the treatment cocktails for HIV/AIDS are very expensive and a vast quantity of people cannot afford them. Those who cannot afford them will die, often leaving behind families and orphans. Some of those who do have access to HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis treatments run into other complications. The long term use of drugs for these diseases have caused the development of new strains of the infections that are resistant to the drugs commonly used to treat them. Drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis must be identified quickly and then treated with a newer drug, if the patient is to live through the illness. Resistance to HIV/AIDS drugs is very common, which is one of the reasons that make the drugs so expensive. HIV/AIDS requires about three different cocktails of drugs that patient must rotate approximately every six months to keep them effective.   

            The substantial inequality associated with HIV, AIDS, and tuberculosis is unacceptable. Every person should be educated about these infections, and every infected person should have quality treatment available to them. More effort should be taken into understanding the needs of patients in impoverished regions and making sure that their needs are meet. With a through understanding of the infections and the societies that they impact the most, I foresee the possibility of escaping these epidemics.

Migrant Labor and Sexually Transmitted Diseases: AIDS in Africa

Lauren Berg

SOC 420

First Midterm

4/17/12

AIDS in Africa

            Charles Hunt’s research, Migrant Labor and Sexually Transmitted Diseases: AIDS in Africa, used historical materialist epidemiology and the dependency theory to analyze the HIV/AIDS epidemic of Africa. It explains how the epidemiology of the “AIDS belt” is a product of the labor systems that were implemented during colonialism. The conclusions drawn about AIDS in Uganda are relevant throughout the AIDS belt and disprove other theories regarding the origin and behaviors of disease.

            The AIDS patterns in Africa are related but distinct from those of developed countries. Similar to Africa, in the United States HIV spread through an already vulnerable population. There was a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and little use of protection in the US homosexual population prior to the onset of the AIDS epidemic. These factors increased their susceptibility to HIV contraction and caused the homosexual population to be the initial route of the infection into the larger population. During the US epidemic a substantial number of homosexual men, bisexual men, and drug users were infected. These trends caused different patterns of US infections than those in Africa. The US and Europe had a 16:1 ratio of HIV seropositive males to females, whereas Africa had a 1:1 ratio (Hunt 1989).  Another distinctive factor between AIDS in Africa and in developed countries is the secondary diseases that often appear alongside AIDS. Many of the secondary AIDS infections in Africa are worse than those of the US and Europe.

            The labor systems that were encumbered upon Uganda during its colonial period caused the separation of many families. Women and children were left in labor reserves in which their primary duties consisted of providing food for the family. The men migrated to labor concentration sites in which they worked for low wages. This separation of families caused a proliferation in sexual partners, especially in the labor concentration sites. Many women who were prostitutes in the labor concentrations sites had STIs, which were thus spread throughout the labor concentration sites. When men and prostitutes became ill, it was common for them to return to their family, which caused a spread of STIs to the labor reserves. Once HIV/AIDS appeared in the cities, it spread with ease through the already vulnerable populations that had a great number of sexual partners and preexisting STIs. AIDS spread first through the labor concentrations sites and then to the labor reserves, constructing the pattern of AIDS in Uganda.

             South Africa had a similar but more developed labor system than Uganda and the other countries in the AIDS belt. At the time that the AIDS in Africa research was conducted however, South Africa did not have a high prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS. This did not fit the pattern of high infection rates throughout the other countries with this labor system. Hunt hypothesized that this is a result of the stricter familial separation and the later formation of the labor system in South Africa, and that it was only a matter of time before the epidemic would spread to the country. This hypothesis was correct; In 2003 South Africa had an estimated prevalence of 5.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS, which is the highest in the world (KFF 2005).

            It was the world’s core economies push for greater profit that caused the patterns of the HIV/AIDS in the Africa. As Karl Marx wrote, “the drive for profit is a boundless thirst that chases the capitalist over the whole surface of the globe in search for not only low-cost labor but also inexpensive raw materials” (Ferrante 2011). The westernized world, with an obsession for profit and little concern for the wellbeing of laborers, created these disease ridden labor systems.  As the world system theory explains, colonization and exploitation are key elements in how the global economy came to be, however tragic it is. Globalization and global interdependence will keep most of Africa below the poverty line and prevent many from receiving proper HIV/AIDS treatments. The current dynamics of the world’s political economies will continue to cause enormous inequality and suffering in Africa for many years to come.

Works Cited:

Kaiser family foundation (KFF). (2005, Oct). Retrieved from http://www.kff.org/hivaids/upload/7365.pdf

Ferrante, J., & Caldeira, C. (2010). Seeing sociology, an introduction. (pp. 370-374). Wadsworth Pub Co.