The families laugh and gossip. Then the women say, Listen to us gossip. We ll get Xonischwen all over our baskets. When the women have finished collecting plants, they lay out the picnic they brought along, while the boys and girls swim in the creek. The women bring what the children like best.
Hot dogs are a summer favorite.
At the end of the day, the families, tired and happy, head back down from the hills to their homes in Hoopa Valley. In each woman s home, there is a corner where she keeps her basket plants. The old people see the stacks of basketry materials and say, That is like the old houses. All year the children look forward to spending the summer with their families, swimming and picnicking and gathering plants along the cool creeks. Summer is a relaxing time for families to come together by returning to the landscape of streams and hills.