“One story of survival that I came across a few years ago was about ‘Kah-Kah-Wid’ (killer whale) who was placed in this world before the humans were here. When the humans came to this earth they had no way of knowing about all of the creatures that were placed here before them. One of the first things to be done was to find a home in order to get out of the elements. Second was to find food in order to survive but his knowledge of this world was non-existent. Feeling sorry that he could not catch food to eat he went by the ocean and wept. ‘Why do you cry, land creature?’ a voice came from the ocean. ‘I am hungry and I do not know of any food,’ was his reply to seemingly no-one, because he could not see who was talking to him. ‘Look in the ocean, see the small sea-creatures; they are good to eat.’ He looked and saw salmon. Lots of them, but they were fast and slippery. ‘I cannot eat what I can’t catch.’ Finally Kah-Kah-Wid jumped from the water saying ‘You see how easy is it?’, holding a salmon in his mouth. ‘Lazy land-creature,’ Kah-Kah-Wid was disgusted. ‘Lazy land creature needs easy way to catch salmon. Build a wall of stones in the water here, for this is where salmon gather before going up the river to spawn.’ He built a wall of stones and when the tide went out there were lots of salmon caught behind the wall. Land creature always did have food from then on thanks to Kah-Kah-Wid, the First Fisherman.”

– Art Thompson