Sharing

A spirit of sharing has been like fresh air, like the sunlight and the spring rain growing our gardens and sparkling in our waters. We have always shared our home, as the riches of this place are shared with us, with our neighbors among the First Nations. Our grandmothers and our grandfathers and the great world that we live in have nourished the spirit of sharing. We have been taught that all things, the land, waters, plants, animals, and people, we all share the same spirit. Animals of the sea have shared their lives. Animals of rivers have shared their lives. Animals of woods have shared their lives. We have shared our homes and our lives. We have shared clams from our beaches, oysters from our shallow bays. We have shared halibut, flounder, and cod from off our shores. We have shared salmon and steelhead from our bays, rivers, creeks, and lakes. We have shared deer, elk, and rabbits, ducks, geese, and other birds. We have shared nuts, herbs, and berries, everything that grows in our hills and meadows. Sharing brought us prosperity and peace. We have shared with white men newly arrived here, but a spirit of sharing has not seemed to affect them.