Coast Salish on the Border and the Erosion of Sovereignty
In an era of declining state ability to control its borders one response has been to create « spectacles of power », fortified walls and barriers. In the Coast Salish territories of British Columbia and Washington State, these barriers have impeded legal movement of Indigenous people. Building on fieldwork and participation as an expert witness, I focus on two instances of adverse impact on First Nations. The first concerns a First Nations man arrested by Homeland Security and state officials for fishing in US waters which are within his nation’s historic fish grounds. The other concerns a border community whose council uses the device of the border to withdraw legal recognition from 306 of its own members. These stories reveal a disorganized contest of state and tribal legal authorities, all asserting their priority, largely oblivious to the other. The consequence is the Coast Salish borderlands have become more repressive.