Infrastructure that Sings: Kwawaka'wakw Social Media for Wild Salmon in the Broughton Archipelago

Abstract

Background: As an exercise in decolonizing infrastructural approaches to communications, this article applies the framework of “Two-Eyed Seeing” to the example of Kwawaka'wakw social media communications related to the occupation of fish farms in the Broughton Archipelago in 2017.Analysis: Kwawaka'wakw social media communications worked to enact a “living infrastructure,” upholding reciprocal relations with salmon and ocean waters, in support of the mutual flourishing of the waters, salmon, and people.Conclusions and implications: Kwawaka'wakw nations and their allies drew on social media to shift communicational channels beyond mainstream media. This supported Kwawaka'wakw in building relationships with broader publics, who helped pressure government to make change.