NCPC: Share With Each Other

fall is very much here on our continent, and with it comes celebrations, honouring of ancestors, and preparing for the winter. witches call this time samhain (pronounced sow-wen), the time when the veil between worlds becomes thin.

many cultures around the world, current and ancient, honour their ancestors in the fall in conjunction with a harvest feast. spirit feasts and spirit plates abound in this season.

everyone prepares for winter. from ancient hunter-gatherers to agrarian cultures, there was always a fall effort to preserve as much food as possible, to make sure there was enough fuel to get everyone through. the feasting was more often than not whatever could not be preserved.

even today there are still canning parties, hunters processing game together, folks coming together to buck wood for the winter. amongst our varied ancestors, abundance has often been defined as enough and some to share. all forms of mutual aid, even when not named as such.

as the world gets more and more intense with each passing day, it is vital that we find ways to share with each other, to stay connected and reaffirm ourselves to community. to recognise lines of kinship and support.

an important part of honouring our ancestors is taking good care of our elders. ncpc takes care of many elders during the winter, both on the fort hall shoshone-bannock reservation and throughout our community, providing things ranging from heating oil and firewood to groceries, coats and gloves. in fact, many families on the ft hall rez depend on our coat drive every winter.

this is why we start our fall fundraising campaign around samhain, to be able to provide the winter help we are known for.