03 Oct Poem: Seeing Salmon
Seeing salmon swim
in the pickup truck size aquarium
at Bear Creek Salmon Festival 2022
moved me, shifted me.
Their size, their sleek strength,
their millennia-long upriver journeys.
Takelma elder Grandma Aggie’s teaching
of “Salmon nation,”
of “all our relations”
reverberates within my mind.
Do I want to eat these “relations”
ever again?
Later, I see bright chunks of god-stuff
in fish form
grilling by an open fire, Takelma style,
here for all ages to taste.
They have been gently guided on to
decades-used sharp redwood skewers
by Native elder Tom Smith.
Grandma Aggie speaks within me again:
“Honor and give thanks”
for these relations
we depend on for our very lives.
So I savor the vibrant flesh
with gratitude
for the Parks Department staff
and Native American wisdom-holders
and caring Ashland volunteers
who made this community Salmon Festival
possible.
Most of all,
I give thanks to
the Circle of Life creator
of salmon, community, and me
for this day in the Circle.
The 2022 Bear Creek Salmon Festival took place on October 1 in North Mountain Park. Great attendance, especially families with kids. Lots of fun, education, music and food.
Nina
Posted at 21:02h, 03 OctoberI attended, was there, and spoke to Tom Smith, who I know does the seat lodges at the Veterans Administration helping veterans there. It was a wonderful day in North Mountain Park, so great that Ashland is doing these kinds of things. bringing information to attendees, the importance of becoming close to the earth and one with nature.