Community Videos

In 2018, the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program initiated a cultural exchange between the Indigenous Papua New Guinea people of YUS (Yopno-Uruwa-Som) and members of the Lummi Nation, a Pacific Northwest Coast Salish tribe renowned as a staunch advocate for environmental protection and Indigenous rights. Lummi Nation representative Cathy Ballew visited Papua New Guinea to meet YUS leaders, educators and community members to learn about their culture and traditional forest medicines. In turn, a group from YUS traveled to Washington state to spend a dynamic week with the Lummi and other tribes at the Salish Canoe Journey. They shared conservation victories and setbacks, and discussed similarities and differences in their traditions and how they honor them in the face of outside influences and pressures.