The whale strengthened the relationships between family members since everyone shared in the bounty of the whale. And the whale strengthened our people spiritually, psychologically and physically. For thousands of years our ancestors and historical trading partners sustained optimum health by consuming the health-promoting meat and fats found in sea mammals. More then a dozen studies over the past ten years have shown that sea mammal omega 3 fatty acids can help alleviate some of the symptoms of arthritis including morning stiffness, fatigue, pain and the number of inflamed joints. This is simply because sea mammal oil is more readily absorbed into the bloodstream than are the omega 3 fats found in fish and flax seed.
Health is only one of the important reasons to reinstate our cultural practices.
When we talk about Nuu chah nulth cultural practices we are in fact talking about responsibilities that have evolved over millennia into unwritten tribal laws. These reflect our relations to the natural world, and are the product of the slow integration, or co-evolution, of our culture within our environment. Thus, the environment is not a place of divisions but a place of relations, a place where cultural diversity and bio-diversity are not separate, but are in fact interdependent. But it is a fact that most Nuu chah nulth practices, such as fishing, hunting, gathering and whaling have a much deeper ecological management role. These Nuu chah nulth practices maintained the balance within nature, the environment and the ecosystems of which our people, with all our cultural institutions and practices, are an integral part.