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People pray to protect salmon
Second annual Interspiritual Gathering shows the faith on Earth Day
Ian Austin, The Province
Published: Monday, April 23, 2007VANCOUVER - People of all faiths gathered on Earth Day yesterday to show faith in B.C.'s wild salmon stocks.
Visitors to Vanier Park heard classical music from Quattro, Buddhist chants, First Nations drumming and pleas to protect and pray for our precious salmon at the second annual Interspiritual Gathering.
Organizer Celia Brauer of the False Creek Watershed Society reminded more than 100 celebrants that Vancouver was once home to 57 thriving salmon streams.
View Larger ImageA member of the Squamish Nation Canoe Family performs a traditional dance and song for the about 50 people on hand for a gathering to bless the salmon as they head to sea at Hadden Park near Kits Point in Vancouver yesterday.
Jason Payne, The Province
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"We are releasing salmon today -- their odds are very long," said Brauer. "From 2,500 eggs we get 375 fingerlings, 30 smolts,
41/2 adults and eventually just two spawners."
As kids searched for crabs, joggers and cyclists dropped by for a brief blessing and then continued their tour.
"All faiths and all nations are coming together to speak the same language," said Rabbi Joseph Saltoun. "I've seen the world around us waking up to the realities of climate change."
The Squamish Nation Canoe Family -- 13 members strong -- led the crowd in singing as they drummed and danced among the group spread out on logs, lawns and the beach.
"At one time our people lived on these beaches where we had our villages," said Larry Nahanee. "This water used to be our highway -- the path to all our villages."
The dancers used carved, painted miniature paddles as they carved their way through the crowd.
Then, at the proper moment, the entire group -- speakers, politicians, visitors and elders -- gathered in an interfaith prayer circle to bless the salmon as they head to sea.
"Thank you for this," said elder Kenneth Nahanee to an unknown interspiritual being.
"Thank you for the prayers, for other cultures, for other words."
With that, hand-in-hand, the group led the salmon down to the water and released the fingerlings with all the karmic good will they could muster.
n Across the country, thousands of Canadians marked Earth Day with celebrations and protests.
In Montreal, an estimated crowd of 25,000 marched in a protest parade that stretched
23 blocks to show their support for the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
On Parliament Hill, hundreds of people tied mini-bells to their wrists and sounded them together in a chorus meant to represent the dangers of climate change and other threats to the Earth.
The event was organized by the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition and several other unions and environmental organizations.
iaustin@png.canwest.com
-- with CanWest News Service
