Water -- Emma

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    What is water? In a word: water is life. ʔəshəliʔ ti qʷuʔ. Along with "when the tide is out, the table is set," that is one of the main mantras that really defines life in the Pacific Northwest. For thousands of years, water has been a defining force in the lives of humans living here. The salmon live in water, as do other fish, and the seals, whales, shellfish, amphibians, and many birds, all the bounty of water. And other creatures rely on it for drinking and for keeping the lands green and healthy for grazing or for farming. Not only does it have the power of life, but also destruction. It brings floods, tsunamis, blizzards, hurricanes, and all manner of destruction. 

It isn't only important to this region as well. Entire religions of the Old World, such as the Greco-Roman pantheon, were dominated by a god of rain. Even the Abrahamic god, long before being worshipped monotheistically, was Yahweh, a god of storms. The potential of water, both of life and destruction, has been noted by humans for millennia. 

Our lives as humans revolves around water, and the trajectory of our species is fundamentally rooted in our relation to it, whether it be great floods in our origin stories, or the harnessing of waters in irrigation, or turning water into steam to power the birth of the modern industrial world. Water is the lifeblood of our species. At the same time, water connects and permeates all things. It is part of the ground, and the sky, and of course, the seas. It flows through us and most living things. Water is part of every creature's life, including ours, and we should protect it with our lives.

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