Each year, tribes in the Columbia River Basin celebrate the return of the salmon. It is part of an annual First Foods ceremony that honors the tribes’ Creation Story and their unique connection to the Pacific Northwest. This relationship has spanned thousands of years and hundreds of generations and their traditional First Foods give insight into how this coexistence between people and place has endured. Join “Smunitee” Mary Lee Jones as she shares her first-hand experience with Traditional First Foods and her tribe’s Creation Story. Mary Lee is a member of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. She has coordinated Traditional Food Seminars throughout the Pacific Northwest, and is a traditional gatherer herself. In her professional life, she works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a Social Services Representative to those living and working along the Columbia River.