A 500 year old artifact unearthed recently matches a story handed down by generations about the creation of life: "Mucus from a weeping mother's nose falls on a mussel shell and becomes an infant."The hand of the Great Spirit sustains all life with a never ending flow of fresh water. The wood and the water are mystically linked. Because a cedar can become a canoe, the people can harvest the sea. Because an elk's antlers can be carved to hold a harpoon blade of a sharpened mussel shell, a gray whale can be captured. Because the cry of the wolf so echoes the cry of the killer whale the people feel that this is the same animal, using one body for land and another for sea. The gifts of the wolf and the killer whale show the people strong hunting skills and a strong sense of the family and the tribal way of life. Of all the sea creatures the gray whale is the most important. Its gifts are oil and meat for food, sinew for making harpoons, giant bones that can be shaped into war clubs and utensils. The bear's gifts to the people is its show of strength and courage. The eagle is the most sacred of all, said to be the only creature that has seen the face of the Creator. The majestic bird carries the spirits of those that have passed over to join the spirits of their ancestors, leaving the weeping mothers to continue the creation of life.
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Copyright © 2006 by Gerald Sandau.
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Revised: 02/27/07 15:43:03 -0800.