Wy·Kan·Ush·Pum
Salmon Activity Book
This collection of fun activities and coloring sheets
was made possible by a generous contribution from
Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission
Yakama · Umatilla · Warm Springs · Nez Perce
“Putting sh back in the rivers and restoring
the watersheds where sh live.”
Salmon People
Salmon is a central part of the cultures of Pacic Northwest tribes. They celebrate the return of
the salmon each year with great feasts, dancing, singing, and celebrations. Below are some of
the important sh that the tribes harvest each year.
Chinook salmon
Sockeye salmon
Coho salmon
Lamprey
What will you do to celebrate the salmon’s return next spring?
“We are all Salmon People.” • 1
Wild Salmon Life Cycle
Arriving at her home stream, a female
builds a nest, or redd, in ne, clean gravel.
As a female deposits her thousands of eggs, a male releases milt, fertilizing
them. Both male and female salmon die soon after spawning, except steelhead
and cutthroat, which may survive another year or more to spawn again.
Tiny yolk-sac fry, or alevins, hatch after 2
to 8 months. They stay in the gravel for
another 1 to 3 months until the food from
the yolk sac is used up. They need cold,
pure water to breathe and wash away
their wastes.
The fry emerge from the gravel and begin to feed
on their own. Many are lost to predators,
competition, or failure to adapt to stream
conditions. Some types of salmon begin their
migration downstream soon after emergence,
while others stay in freshwater for a year or more.
During migration the fry are vulnerable to predators,
such as birds or northern pikeminnow, walleye, and bass,
which thrive in the reservoirs. Seven to 15 percent die
passing each dam.
By the time they reach the estuary, the fry have
become smolts, and their bodies are adapting to
saltwater. Here they linger to feed and grow before
entering the ocean. Predators, unfavorable conditions,
and failure to adapt will deplete their numbers further.
After 1 to 7 years in the ocean, the adult salmon that
have survived countless hazards from predators, ocean
conditions, and commercial harvest return to the
Columbia River and head for their home streams.
2 • Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, ©2007
Wild Salmon Life Cycle
Arriving at her home stream, a female
builds a nest, or redd, in ne, clean gravel.
As a female deposits her thousands of eggs, a male releases milt, fertilizing
them. Both male and female salmon die soon after spawning, except steelhead
and cutthroat, which may survive another year or more to spawn again.
Tiny yolk-sac fry, or alevins, hatch after 2
to 8 months. They stay in the gravel for
another 1 to 3 months until the food from
the yolk sac is used up. They need cold,
pure water to breathe and wash away
their wastes.
The fry emerge from the gravel and begin to feed
on their own. Many are lost to predators,
competition, or failure to adapt to stream
conditions. Some types of salmon begin their
migration downstream soon after emergence,
while others stay in freshwater for a year or more.
During migration the fry are vulnerable to predators,
such as birds or northern pikeminnow, walleye, and bass,
which thrive in the reservoirs. Seven to 15 percent die
passing each dam.
By the time they reach the estuary, the fry have
become smolts, and their bodies are adapting to
saltwater. Here they linger to feed and grow before
entering the ocean. Predators, unfavorable conditions,
and failure to adapt will deplete their numbers further.
After 1 to 7 years in the ocean, the adult salmon that
have survived countless hazards from predators, ocean
conditions, and commercial harvest return to the
Columbia River and head for their home streams.
“We are all Salmon People.” • 3
Canada
Montana
Wyoming
Oregon
Washington
California
Nevada
Utah
Idaho
Pacific Ocean
The Columbia River Basin
Most of the Pacic Northwest is part of the Columbia River Basin. All the water that falls here
eventually ows into the Columbia River and out into Pacic Ocean. The basin includes parts
of Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. Some water
travels over 1,000 miles! Rain that falls in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming can eventu-
ally ow into the Pacic Ocean, going through four states to get there. Below is an outline of
the Columbia River Basin. Help guide the raindrops from Yellowstone to the Pacic Ocean.
4 • Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, ©2007
I’m a little salmon,
I can swim.
Here is my tail,
Here is my fin.
When I want to have fun
with my friends,
I wiggle my tail
and dive right in.
(sing to “I’m a Little Teapot”)
Healthy streams
Salmon smolts and young lamprey need cool, clean water and nutritious food to grow as
they prepare to migrate to the ocean. Draw some trees to shade the water for these sh and
then draw them some tasty insects to eat to help them grow big and strong.
“We are all Salmon People.” • 5
Clean water
Plants, animals, and people all need clean water. Pollution and garbage can make people and
salmon sick. Cross out the things below that don’t belong in a healthy river or stream.
6 • Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, ©2007
S W C O L V I L L E A Y K A
S T H M U C K L E S H O O T
H E I W O R C E S K I M O C
O C P L N B U I S H W D H O
S R P P L L N U M S A E A M
H E E O J A V A N N R L P A
O P W M B C Q E A O M A A N
N Z A O N K R U K H S W R C
E E I S H F S E A O P A A H
A N T A O E E E E M R R P E
E L K U P E M B O I I E A L
N A L L I T A M U S N S C A
M A M A K A Y U P H G E H N
E S U Y A C P L O P S L E E
Apache
Arapaho
Assinaboine
Blackfeet
Cayuse
Chelan
Cherokee
Chippewa
Colville
Comanche
Cree
Crow
Delaware
Eskimo
Hopi
Lumbee
Makah
Muckleshoot
Navajo
Nez Perce
Paiute
Shoshone
Snohomish
Stillaquamish
Umatilla
Warm Springs
Yakama
Native American Tribes
There are over 500 native tribes in North America! They are each unique in some
way, whether that be their language, diet, form of government, clothing, life-
style, physical attributes, or something else. Below are 27 of those tribes. Each
one appears in the puzzle—horizontally, vertically, diagonally, even back-
ward. Find them and CIRCLE THEIR LETTERS ONLY. DO NOT CIRCLE THE
WORD. Some letters are used more than once.
Now write the leftover letters in the spaces below for the secret message:
- - -
“
.”
“We are all Salmon People.” • 7
Petroglyphs
Petroglyphs are ancient images carved into rocks. Indians carved them for a variety of reasons,
including to record important events and measure time. Use the space below to draw your
own petroglyph.
8 • Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, ©2007
Hiding animals
Can you nd all ten animals hiding from the hunters in this picture?
“We are all Salmon People.” • 9
Swimming upstream
Guide this lamprey through the maze of
rapids it must pass on its way back home.
10 • Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, ©2007
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
46
47
48
49
50
45
“We are all Salmon People.” • 11
Tepees
Many tribes lived in tepees. They often decorated them with spiritual symbols, family
designs, or decorative patterns. How would you decorate your own tepee?
12 • Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, ©2007
Water Quality
Just like you, salmon need fresh, clean water to stay healthy. Today we know how to improve
and protect water quality. Below is a river community doing a variety of activities, some that
protect their river and some that don’t. Can you nd all the items listed below?
Protects water quality
® Recycling center
® Air monitoring station
® Controlled runo
® Limited development
® Someone riding a bike
Doesn’t protect water quality
® Cows in a oodplain
® Clearcutting in a forest
® Factory on a riverbank
® River dumping
Other things to nd
® News van
® Kids playing ball
® Sailboat
® Billboard
® Two birds
® Two jumping sh
® Boy walking a dog
® Dam
® Deer
Image modied from a poster from the USGS. The complete poster is available at http://water.usgs.gov/outreach/OutReach.html
“We are all Salmon People.” • 13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
46
47
48
49
50
45
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
14 • Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, ©2007
Building a redd
(a nest)
Salmon fry
Salmon smolts
Salmon eggs
Ocean living
Spawning
The Salmon Lifecycle
Salmon are anadromous, which means they are born in fresh water, then swim to the ocean
to grow into adults, then swim back to fresh water to reproduce. Below are pictures of differ-
ent parts of the salmon lifecyle. First match the picture to the appropriate term. After that,
number the pictures in order, starting with the salmon eggs. Refer to pages 4-5 for help.
“We are all Salmon People.” • 15
Stick-roasted salmon
Warm Springs elder Geraldine Jim traditionally cooks salmon using sticks to hold the lets
over the hot alder wood coals of the campre.
16 • Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, ©2007
Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission
Yakama ·Umatilla · Warm Springs · Nez Perce
“Putting sh back in the rivers and
restoring the watersheds where sh live.”
For more information about CRITFC and its member tribes’
eorts to restore salmon, visit our website at www.critfc.org
CRITFC
729 NE Oregon, Suite 200
Portland, OR 97232
We are all Salmon People.
Wy·Kan·Ush·Pum means “Salmon
People” in Sahaptin, the common
laguage family of the Yakama, Warm
Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce
tribes. If you live in the Northwest,
you are a Wy·Kan·Ush·Pum, too! As a
Wy·Kan·Ush·Pum, it is important to
learn about salmon, healthy rivers and
streams, and the environment. It is also
important to take good care of the
environment by not wasting water or
electricity and not littering. Also, don’t
forget to go on walks and hikes with
your family; by being out in nature, you
can learn more about the world around
us and if you’re walking by the right
river or stream, you might even get to
see a salmon!
Front and back cover art by Angela Jorgenson.