Children of the Setting Sun Productions (CSSP) is a Native-owned and operated production company headquartered in Bellingham, Washington, within five miles of the Lummi Nation. CSSP descends from Great-Grandfather Frank Hillaire, who despite the outlawing of Native spirituality, song, dance, and ceremony, formed the Children of the Setting Sun Song and Dance Group for the purpose of continuing and sharing the culture of the Lummi Nation. Darrell Hillaire (Lummi) and Natasha Frey coedited Jesintel; Darrell is executive director of CSSP and Natasha is principal of Setting Sun Institute, a CSSP subsidiary. Photographer Fay "Beau" Garreau Jr. is Hunkpapa and Mnicoujou Lakota and a tribal member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, located in South Dakota, and runs DaKO.5TUDIOS. The book also includes contributions by Lynda Mapes of the Seattle Times and Nicole Brown, associate professor at Western Washington University, and an afterword by Danita Washington (Lummi).
Skip to main content
Jesintel
Living Wisdom from Coast Salish Elders (excerpt)
Children of the Setting Sun ProductionsAuthor
Dynamic and diverse, Coast Salish culture is bound together by shared values and relations that generate a resilient worldview. Jesintel—"to learn and grow together"—characterizes the spirit of this book, which brings the cultural teachings of nineteen elders to new generations.
Featuring interviews that share powerful experiences and stories, Jesintel illuminates the importance of ethical reciprocal relationships and the interconnectedness of places, land, water, and the spirit within all things. Elders offer their perspectives on language revitalization, Coast Salish family values and naming practices, salmon, sovereignty, canoe racing, and storytelling. They also share traumatic memories, including of their boarding school experiences and the epidemics that ravished their communities. Jesintel highlights the importance of maintaining relations and traditions in the face of ongoing struggles. Collaboration is at the heart of this work and informs how the editors and community came together to honor the boundless relations of Coast Salish people and their territories.
Metadata
- isbn9780295748641
- publisherUniversity of Washington Press
- publisher placeSeattle
- rightsAll rights reserved