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What is Wy•Kan•Ush•Pum?
"Wy•Kan•Ush•Pum" is a Sahaptin* word that the Spirit of the Salmon Fund coined--it means "salmon people." "Wy•kan•ush" is the sacred word for salmon, and "pum" means "people" or "tribe." Some of the tribal bands up and down the Columbia River still bear names that use this format, including the Wanapum (River People) and Wallulapum (People of Wallula). There was never a tribe called the Wy•Kan•Ush•Pum, but in a way, everyone who has ever lived in the Pacific Northwest is a member, for salmon affect us all.
The Spirit of the Salmon Fund, in conjunction with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Public Information Office, created the Wy•Kan•Ush•Pum campaign to educate the public about the importance of salmon, of caring for the environment in which salmon live, and to inspire them to create ways that they can honor salmon and the environment themselves. By increasing the public's awareness and understanding of the importance of salmon and what they represent, the Spirit of the Salmon Fund hopes to further its goal of long-term salmon restoration, because individuals who have a direct emotional or meaningful connection with the salmon are much more likely to help preserve these amazing animals.
Since its creation in 2002, Wy•Kan•Ush•Pum has been used for a music festival, an annual gala and art auction, a tribal educational village, and most recently, the name of the courtyard at the Portland State University Native American Student and Community Center. The courtyard is the first use of the term outside the Spirit of the Salmon Fund, and is an exciting development in its efforts to spread the message that we are all "salmon people."
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| The first use of the term "Wy•Kan•Ush•Pum was for the 2002 music festival that the Spirit of the Salmon Fund coordinated on the banks of the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. | The annual Wy•Kan•Ush•Pum Gala celebrates art and salmon at an art auction featuring some of the Northwest's premier artists. | The Wy•Kan•Ush•Pum Village, set up on the banks of the Sandy River near Gresham, Oregon at the annual Oxbow Salmon Festival shares the tribal importance of salmon culture | The 8 ft. tall bronze sculpture of Chief Joseph by Nez Perce artist Doug Hyde stands in the Wy•Kan•Ush•Pum Courtyard at the Portland State University Native American Student Center. |
*Sahaptin is the language family that the Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Nez Perce tribes have in common.
