![]() ![]() They wove a ladder of roots and when it was long enough, lowered themselves down to the earth. Digging in the Sky World's prairies, they broke through the ground and saw But the two sisters had begun to miss their home. Soon, the older sister had a son, the StarĬhild. Sisters awoke, they found themselves in the Sky World as the wives of these two stars. In the Star Child story of the Snoqualmie people, for example, two sisters camped in a prairie to dig the bulbs of the camas plant.Īs they fell asleep, the younger sister wished that two stars in the night sky would become her and her sister's husbands. Of these stories focus on a figure called the Transformer or Changer, whose actions gave sense to the Lushootseed world. Lushootseed origin stories also place the creation of their world far in the past, when the world was in flux. Making the World as It Is: The Transformer Storiesįrom archaeological sites, scientists know that Native Americans have lived around Puget Sound for over 10,000 years, arriving justĪfter the Ice Age. This essay views Lushootseed culture through the lens of Huchoosedah, which has been an anchor for Native people in Puget Sound countryĭuring two centuries of great change. The core of these traditions is Huchoosedah, a term meaning cultural knowledge and knowledge of self. However, for those who look and listen, Lushootseed traditions are as rich as the bountiful landĪround the shores of Puget Sound. Lushootseed culture has often been overshadowed by the "totem pole cultures" of the Northwest Coast and the "tipiĬultures" of the Great Plains. Lived to the south, and the Cascades formed a boundary, crossed by high mountain trails, with the Yakama and other peoples of the ![]() Their northern neighbors were the Lummi and Nooksack peoples, while the Twana, Chimacum, and S'Klallam lived to the west. ![]() Lushootseed territories covered a large part of what is now western Washington, from near present-day Bellingham south to the stateĬapital of Olympia, and from the Cascade Mountains west to Hood Canal. (See also: "Snoqualmie-Duwamish Dialects of Puget Sound Salish".) Made up of many local dialects, that was spoken throughout the region. LushootseedĬomes from two words, one meaning "salt water" and the other meaning "language," and refers to the common language, In this essay, they are called the Lushootseed peoples. Reservations such as Duwamish, Nisqually, Skagit, and Snoqualmie. The Native Americans of Puget Sound have been known as Puget Salish and Southern Coast Salish, and by various spellings of tribes and Into the 21st Century: Survival and Adaptation.The World Changes: The Coming of Europeans and Americans.Weaving a Life Together: Body, House, Community, Cosmos.Circling through the Seasons: Gathering Wealth from Land, River, and Sea.Figures in the Landscape: Spirit Powers and Religious Traditions.Making the World as It Is: The Transformer Stories.Introduction: The People of Huchoosedah.Without salmon returning to our rivers and streams, we would cease to be Indian people.1998 LC/Ameritech Grant Proposal Essay by Coll-Peter Thrush.The annual salmon harvest allows the transfer of traditional values from generation to generation.Because our tribal populations are growing (returning to pre-1855 levels), the needs for salmon are more important than ever.As a primary food source for thousands of years, salmon continue to be an essential aspect of our nutritional health.Salmon are indicator species: As water becomes degraded and fish populations decline, so too will the elk, deer, roots, berries and medicines that sustain us.We are obliged to remain and to protect this place. The Creator put us here where the salmon return. Salmon and the rivers they use are part of our sense of place.For many tribal members, fishing is still the preferred livelihood.Historically, we were wealthy peoples because of a flourishing trade economy based on salmon.The annual salmon return and its celebration by the tribes assure the renewal and continuation of human and all other life.Over a dozen longhouses and churches on the reservations and in ceded areas still use salmon for their religious services.Salmon are part of our spiritual and cultural identity.
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