Alert Bay, British Columbia
The air is crisp and clear. We inhale deeply of its freshness. Our lungs fill and across the cellular boundaries a gaseous exchange occurs. Life flows into us, a gift from the greenery around. Lush and verdant, steeped in moisture flowing from the sea, the plants inhale in their own special way. Carbon dioxide in and oxygen out, taking away that which would do us harm and creating that which we need to survive.
Within this forest that edges the sea, a cultural cornerstone resides. Stringy red bark adorns its trunk from moss carpeted forest floor to drooping tip tickling the skyline. Scale-like leaves form a lacy canopy above. From the time Halibut crawled from the sea and built his lodge with the assistance of Thunderbird or from the time Raven pried open an oystershell, the people have known that the western red cedar (Thuja plicata) would provide all. It would give not just the air they breathed but shelter, clothing, implements, canoes, medicine, warmth and strength. It would give wealth and commemorate death. Adorned in cedar regalia, the Kwakwaka'waka of Alert Bay shared their tradition of thankfulness with us today.
The air is crisp and clear. We inhale deeply of its freshness. Our lungs fill and across the cellular boundaries a gaseous exchange occurs. Life flows into us, a gift from the greenery around. Lush and verdant, steeped in moisture flowing from the sea, the plants inhale in their own special way. Carbon dioxide in and oxygen out, taking away that which would do us harm and creating that which we need to survive.
Within this forest that edges the sea, a cultural cornerstone resides. Stringy red bark adorns its trunk from moss carpeted forest floor to drooping tip tickling the skyline. Scale-like leaves form a lacy canopy above. From the time Halibut crawled from the sea and built his lodge with the assistance of Thunderbird or from the time Raven pried open an oystershell, the people have known that the western red cedar (Thuja plicata) would provide all. It would give not just the air they breathed but shelter, clothing, implements, canoes, medicine, warmth and strength. It would give wealth and commemorate death. Adorned in cedar regalia, the Kwakwaka'waka of Alert Bay shared their tradition of thankfulness with us today.
