Salmon are honored and celebrated by all coastal peoples: the fish serves
as a powerful symbol of regeneration, self-sacrifice and perseverance.

Shortages of Salmon are traditionally attributed to human disrespect and
refusal to listen to and live by the wisdom of the elders. Many legends
express the importance of appreciating the Swimmer and observing
traditional rites of respect, such as placing all of Salmon's bones
back into the rivers or the sea after eating. If this ritual is not observed,
Salmon will not return, or will return dismembered and deformed.

Some myths tell about people who were kidnapped by Salmon and
eventually returned to their villages with secret knowledge that enabled
them to become great shamans. Other myths speak of shamans
and/or chiefs voyaging to the undersea world villages of the Salmon
People to secure vital knowledge and power necessary for the survival and
success of their own people.

In many Northwest Coast cultures, Salmon are associated with twins
and are therefore usually carved in pairs. Any twin could claim Salmon
as a crest, regardless of lineage.

Salmon is especially prominent in the art and mythology of the Coast Salish
people, who use it as a unifying symbol of their nation.

Scholars think that in some regions, the high status and respect accorded
to women may relate to their role in the salmon economy. The skill and
labor involved in preparing the fish is greater than that involved in catching
it. Women were the keepers of the tribe's most treasured catch and cache.

Salmon once ran in nearly every stream and river along the Northwest Coast.
Certain species have drastically fallen in number, and all are threatened by
human encroachment.

In the art, Salmon is identified by short fins, round eyes, down turned mouth,
long body, gills, scales and a moderately large, slightly bifurcated tail. Curly
ears indicate the presence of a Supernatural Salmon.