The Wild Salmon Caravan will be stopping in Fort Langley Wednesday, May 13 as it follows the migratory route of salmon from the headwaters down to the ocean.

Made up of First Nations, and wild salmon advocates, the caravan is making its way across B.C. this week, in both a spiritual and political effort, said Eddie Gardner, a Skwah elder who lives in Chilliwack, and one of the organizers of the caravan.

The idea of the caravan is to "open people’s minds and hearts to the magnificent spirit of wild salmon," Gardner said, and to "link coalitions and campaigns into a powerful collective force."

Kwantlen First Nation member Brandon Gabriel is taking part in the caravan as well.

"This is a grassroots movement of First Nations and wild salmon protectors and everyone is invited to join in.

"The salmon are so integral, on a cultural, physical and spiritual level. It's about our well being, and the economy," said Gardner.

The convoy will arrive at Skway First Nation at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 13 for a ceremony and lunch. The caravan travels to Fort Langley and arrives at Kwantlen First Nation Longhouse Cultural Centre at 4 p.m. for a community dinner, entertainment, sharing, more celebrations and an overnight stay at the Kwantlen Sports Park on McMillan Island.

On Thursday, May 14, the caravan leaves Fort Langley at 9:30 a.m. and arrives at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 10:30 a.m. to begin events that will include inspirational speakers giving voice to the many serious issues impacting wild salmon.

There will be a march to Imperial Metals and Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and then to Sunset Beach at English Bay for more inspirational speakers and performing artists celebrating the power, strength, and resiliency of wild salmon! Everyone is welcome to join caravan.

The salmon is a keystone species, he points out, and yet it is under stress from all directions.

"There is no mistake in calling it the iconic species of B.C. Yet the governments are not doing what they should be to support and protect wild salmon on a regulatory level," Gardner said.

"This also caravan is sending a message to federal parties and candidates this spring asking them to explain what they are willing to do to protect the wild salmon and to provide for its resurgence."

They set up a Wild Salmon Caravan fundraising drive at gofundme.com and raised $5,000 for the caravan, and have reached about half their target of $10,000 to date.

He listed some of what he called the "principal threats" to wild salmon from industrial forces: Mt. Polley mine disaster, Kinder Morgan pipeline, Enbridge proposal, and the growth of open-pen fish farms in the ocean.

It's clear wild salmon are at the centre of a "storm brewing" over the province.

"If the salmon go extinct it will have serious and wide-reaching implications."

The Wild Salmon Caravan is an initiative sponsored by the Wilderness Committee, Salmon Are Sacred Initiative, Kwantlen First Nation, and the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Student Union Society Association.

"We still have wild salmon to save," Gardner said. "They show us what it means to be resilient, generous and giving."

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