The Puget Sound: Returning the Gifts
Taowhywee, Agnes Baker Pilgrim, a Takelma Indian Elder of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz in Oregon, has been honored as a “Living Treasure” by her tribe and as a “Living Cultural Legend” by the Oregon Council of the Arts. She is also one of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers who come from all corners of the earth to honor the Creator, and all who work and pray for children, for world peace and for the healing of Mother Earth. She is “A Voice for the Voiceless” and as a historian, storyteller and cultural instructor, she teaches how her people lived in southern Oregon.
I met Grandma Aggie a few years ago when I attended the annual Sacred Salmon Ceremony along the Applegate River. She and her husband Grant, who is now deceased, worked successfully to revive the ceremony over 10 years ago. It is here that the First Nation People of Takelma lived for over 20,000 years. They have a legend that salmon were also people who lived in beautiful cities below the ocean floor and chose to come back every year in the form of salmon to feed the people above. The ceremony acknowledges their sacrifice and what humans must do to ensure the survival of salmon. “I teach reciprocity,” Pilgrim says. “Our people used to do things in moderation. They loved the salmon, so didn’t fish them out. Present day cultures have gotten away from that, and we are making garbage dumps out of rivers and streams.”
Grandma Aggie is a continuing inspiration to me in my quest to recognize and celebrate those who are courageously working for the regeneration of the beauty and essential health of our Puget Sound. These people continue to remind us of the importance of environmental stewardship by returning the many gifts the water provides.
Before the first Revived Salmon Ceremony occurred in 1994, the spring Chinook numbers were 14,000 at nearby Gold Ray Dam. After the ceremony, the 1995 Chinook numbers set a record that still stands: 81,845 salmon passed through the Applegate that year.
Grandma Aggie is not only an advocate for her people, she is a strong advocate for reciprocity. She believes that in teaching about the salmon, which is something everyone eats, people will learn about giving back. She is now especially concerned with what is happening to our water resources throughout the world.
“Cleaning and protecting Puget Sound must be at the top of our state agenda. But I know from experience that state government can’t do it alone.” —Washington State Governor Chris Gregroire
The Puget Sound Region – A sacred connection
Puget Sound’s shorelines have been in decline for years, with thousands of acres contaminated by toxins, 75 percent of the Sound’s salt marsh habitat destroyed and one-third of the shoreline altered or engineered from its natural state. Less than 10 percent of the shoreline is open to the public.
This decline in habitat has had an impact on wildlife. Of the Sound’s 18 threatened or endangered species, 9 rely directly on shoreline habitat. Even the health of the region’s beloved Orcas whales, declared endangered, is connected to shorelines, because the shorelines are the basis for a food web that feeds salmon and, ultimately, Orcas.
“I was taught by my ancestors that returning the gift was the right way.”
—Grey Eagle. Ojibwe, Puget Sound Storyteller
The region’s economy is also affected by the Sound’s decline. Since 1980, nearly 30,000 acres of commercial shellfish beds have closed due to contamination, and Hood Canal’s low oxygen levels resulted in a die-off of tens of thousands of fish in 2004 alone.
“Olympia oysters are a keystone species in the near shore ecosystem with a rich history that has touched the lives of tribal members, shellfish growers, and residents for many generations. Today, we have a chance to bring this oyster back—in Henderson Inlet and elsewhere in Puget Sound.”
—Betsy Peabody, Executive Director, Puget Sound Restoration Fund
Proposal: Pacific Northwest: Returning the Gifts Project
The Puget Sound: Returning The Gifts Project collaborates with tribal elders and others who seek to regenerate the health and vitality of the Puget Sound region. Black and white photographs of people’s hands offering the viewer valued gifts from these cultures provides an opportunity to celebrate the beauty and richness of Puget Sound. They remind us of the importance of reciprocity. Each offering is an invitation to become active caretakers for this valuable region. The energy of these important elders will come through these photographs reminding us again that the wisdom of all people contribute to our collective well-being.
“To the first people this land is sacred. This land is sacred to the first people!” —Vi Hilbert
With gifts from Tribal peoples I want to develop a historical understanding of Puget Sound area at the level of its essence. I hope to form a cohesiveness between people and the waters of Puget Sound that will help people understand: A healthy Sound is what makes life worth living here.
“Puget Sound’s 2,500 miles of shoreline—bluffs, beaches, tidelands, and estuaries—are vital and vibrant. Ecologically, they’re key to the Sound’s overall health; those many miles provide a range of habitats and dynamic processes that support the Sound’s far-reaching web of life. The shorelines are also important to people, connecting us to an inland sea that is at the heart of the region’s cultural, social, and economic identity.” —The Nature Conservancy
The hands offering a gift images will be a valuable resource for programs working to educate and inspire adults and children to care for the place in which they live. The photographs will become a traveling exhibition with accompanying DVD presentation which will allow the viewer to see the gift images and also hear the sound of the giver offering a prayer or words of wisdom in his/her own language. Schools, community centers, museums, churches, businesses, galleries, government buildings are possible venues. The photographs provide greater knowledge about the Tribal peoples who still live successfully and gratefully in this region. The photographs can provide a stimulus for deeper discussions regarding the ways in which each individual can contribute their own gifts and skills in support of this critical and timely endeavor... the regeneration of the Pacific Northwest.
“It’s time to undertake the hard work of bringing people together around a shared vision - a healthy Puget Sound that is accessible to all.” —Nancy McKay, The Russell Family Foundation
Stage One
• Begin consulting with Tribal cultural specialist and creating images of Tribal elders hands offering gifts in celebration of the Pacific Northwest
• Raise funds for the Returning the Gifts Project from individuals, businesses, and organizations who support regeneration of the Pacific Northwest and see this soul-filled approach as contributing to success in this endeavor
• Establish contact with regional organizations such as People for Puget Sound, The Trust for Public Land, and The Nature Conservancy that are working together to preserve the Pacific Northwest regarding the use of these images and how they may support this endeavor
Stage Two
• Prepare a traveling exhibition and video presentation of images paired with prayers and words of wisdom in the tribal languages of this region
• Use of exhibition and/or video at community centers, museums, botanical gardens, and events where other artists, storytellers and dancers can together in support of tribal celebration and regeneration on the Pacific Northwest
• Collaborate with schools and other organizations developing environmental curriculum for children
• Use of the exhibition in other states and countries as a way Washington’s community is building the will for the ongoing regeneration of our waters
Thank you,
Penny Kaela Bauer