Lummi Nation School hosted First Salmon Ceremony on May 14 to ‘care for mind, body and spirit.’
Hundreds gathered Thursday, May 14, for a First Salmon Ceremony hosted at Lummi Nation School.
The ceremony began with stories, shared by students, about the origin of the First Salmon Ceremony. It is a time before the salmon harvest begins where Lummi Nation community members come together to give thanks and connect with one another.
Lummi Nation chair Tony Hillaire stood among speakers. He shared the importance of salmon and what it meant to gather on that day. “Salmon is at the heart of everything we do here at the Lummi Nation,” he said.
Dances followed the stories, performed by Lummi Nation’s Blackhawk Dancers. Songs filled the gymnasium as hosts carried a single smoked Chinook salmon to the center of the room and divided it into paper cups to be passed out to all in attendance.
Tribal members collected salmon bones and loaded them on a truck to be taken to Portage Point. Students pushed the bones out into the water as those standing on the shore began to sing and play hand drums. For a few of the young Lummi Nation members, it was their first time participating in this element of the ceremony.
—By Lukas Prinos