Before the humans spoke, the earth spoke first, and I will tell you the story the way my grandfather told me, through the language of the plants, through the magic of our ancestors and for the love of our people.
“High in the mountains where our nupika and ancestors still speak to us, live plants, insects, and animals that are rarely seen. These plants, insects and animals have their own stories and speak their own language (ʔa·kⱡukaqwum). This is the story of the plants gift”.
The old chief sang with the wind and strolled along the mountain tops – he gave thanks for the breeze and for the warmth of the morning sun. He offered a song and a prayer to the ancestors before he rested a top a stone. With his weathered hands he felt the stone, his fingers traced each line and crack that told its story – the old chief knew the mountains came to rest here long before his time and they would continue to rest here long after he was gone. In his moment of quiet the chief had a vision and a calm enveloped him. Through this calm the ancestors and nupikanin̓tik invited him to their fires. ~ Excerpt from “Walking Through The Seasons”.