All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man... the air
shares its spirit with all the life it supports.
Chief Seattle
For four hours today, we shared spirits with the Northwest Coastal Natives of Tillicum Village, the name coming from a Chinook Jargon word for friendship. Our ferry took us across the Puget Sound to Blake Island, birthplace of Chief Seattle, where we were greeted with clam appetizers and the tantalizing aroma of salmon baking over alder wood fires. Inside the longhouse, we feasted on salmon and other local specialties, including cobbler made from the blackberries that grow wild in the northwest. After our feast, we were taught and entertained by Roger Fernandez, a Native American storyteller assisted by three costumed Indian dancers. After the program, we explored the island, admiring the colors and carvings on the Totems and learning, in the gentle rains of the Pacific Northwest, how these woods came to be called rain forests.
Keeping with custom, we tossed the clam shells underfoot and crushed them into gravel.
These Native Americans -- the Coast Salish -- see all spirits as "people" with feelings and moods. An important custom is to show gratitude for the spirits' sacrifice. The first salmon caught each season is treated with special care and placed on a bed of cedar boughs. The tribal elder greets the salmon and speaks words of thanks for its sacrifice. The salmon is then shared among the tribe before its head, tail, and bones are returned to the water. By treating the salmon with such reverence, the Salish hope that he will tell the other salmon people that this tribe is worthy of their sacrifice, thus ensuring they will have plenty to eat. This tradition is called the First Salmon Feast.
Let him who is chief among you be carved on your Totem pole.
Photo credits: Becca Bowen, Calvin Hillman, Heidi Rodeback
