The Salish Sea Studies Minor

Western Washington University resides at a nexus of complex geologies, ecologies, histories, and cultures: the Salish Sea. This Minor gives students an opportunity to develop a sense of place and a sense of responsibility for learning and caring for where they live. The place-based, experiential, and multidisciplinary Salish Sea Studies curriculum introduces students to the complex human-environment systems of our shared region. Composed of a core set of interdisciplinary courses and a set of electives spanning all colleges on campus, this Minor is designed to demonstrate that many ways of knowing are relevant and important for understanding the Salish Sea.

The Salish Sea bioregion is an estuarine inland sea surrounded by snow-capped mountain ranges and rich in biodiversity. Freshwater lakes and glaciers filter through temperate rainforest into rivers that meet the saltwater and tides from the Pacific Ocean, filling the Puget Sound, Georgia Basin, and Strait of Juan de Fuca. The name “Salish Sea” reflects the long history of Straits and Coast Salish peoples, who have deep and abiding relationships with the lands and waters of this region since time immemorial. Over the past two centuries, the Canada-US border and each nation’s governance structures have cut across this waterscape and intersected with Indigenous nations’ laws and governance systems in myriad ways. Millions of people from around the world have moved to the region’s cities and rural areas. This industrial-scale population growth, combined with extractive resource economies and global climate change, create myriad challenges for the health of this region and all who live here.

This Minor invites students to critically examine these complex issues, and to build meaningful connections across borders, disciplines, and systems to help bring to life an environmentally healthy and just future for the Salish Sea.