Thursday 14 May 2015

30/30 Challenge - Day 13


I have been living on the river for over 8 years now. About 4 years ago, things got really bad and it seemed as if the whole universe was trying to get me off the river. Living on the water was something I really wanted in my life and have since I was a child. I couldn't understand why all these obstacles were being put in my way. I asked spirit to show me what I needed to do to make this work.

 I had a vision were I was underwater with a salmon, a trout, a beaver and a river otter. I was having serious problems breathing the water as it was full of fuel and toxic chemicals. It burned my throat and was suffocating me. The salmon told me to follow him and he would take me out to the ocean. I thought things would be better there but every mouthful I took of ocean water was full of slivers of plastic that were cutting my mouth and choking me. I was horrified that these poor animals had to live like that. No wonder there are mass die offs and so many issues with  marine life.

The animals and fish said to me, we are ok with you being our neighbor, we don't mind if you live with us. There is one condition though, you can't add to the problem and we ask you to help us clean up the water. I thought that was more than fair of a request and I have been diligent since then to not pollute the river in any way and to try and pass the message on in my blog. In turn I have been rewarded with a spectacular berth for my home and all my problems around the house melting away.

I always wished I could do more, however, then just set a good example. Recently I discovered a page on facebook called Salmon are Sacred. Through that page I found out about a caravan of people travelling from the interior to the coast, stopping at native villages along the way to drum up support from the different tribes and clans to fight all the disastrous projects that the government are trying to ok along the river.

Today at the ripe old age of 56 I finally attended my very first demonstration. I cant think of a better thing to fight for than the health of our fish and the environment. We must be good stewards of the earth, we should leave it in better condition than how we found it, not destroy everything in sight.

The photos were taken at the Kwantlen Reserve just outside of Fort Langley. Their island is my sunset view from my house and I have wanted to visit there since we moved here.


Rowers practicing in the slough beside the reserve

Drumming and singing healing songs.

Royalty from other tribes, here to show their support




It was a wonderful afternoon and evening filled with songs, stories and speeches topped off with a wonderful meal in the longhouse and a fabulously talented duo that had us singing and dancing the night away. I am so happy to have finally met my neighbors. I would love to work with their community offering them healing sessions and co creating some festivals. In the meantime I plan to get more involved with fighting for the river and its inhabitants. I love being surrounded by wildlife and I will do anything in my power to make sure their life is healthy and happy. 
 
 All my relations!
 
 
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1 comment:

  1. It is an honour to be able to attend and participate in traditional activities. The Sliammon First Nation will be hosting paddlers from other nations in traditional canoes this summer. We plan to attend. We really enjoyed the last one. - Margy

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a comment, Rhianna

The Eclectic Ark