Following Ancient Trackways

Shout Out to Earth’s Wild Childs!

…those who feel the call of the wild—a deep connectedness to the natural landscapes that they call home.

We literally become a part of these wild scapes—we breath the oxygen provided by the trees, drink the water originating from the mountain top glaciers, consume the bounties of these spaces, walk on the earth and shed traces of our DNA with each step.

Join me as I uncover the wild scapes that shaped who I am and have left traces in my DNA memory.

As a Western Canadian of European descent, I feel deeply connected to the Rainforests of British Columbia (BC). I am at home in these Northern Temperate Rainforests. I spent the first few years of my life living in BC’s coastal rainforests, and some of my formative childhood years living in BC’s Interior Rainforest. As an adult, I live in Southern BC, home to BC’s Interior Temperate Rainforest—one of the rarest rainforests on Earth.

The British Columbian Rainforests have been home to Indigenous peoples (Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Wuikinuxv, Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw,, Da’naxda’xw Quatsino, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwak’awakw, Ditidaht, Pacheedaht, Saanich, Scia’new, Malahat, Snaw-naw-as, Songhees, T’sou-ke, Hul’qumi’num, Sto:lo, Nlaka’pamux, Okanagan, Secwepemc, Coast Tsimshian, Haida, Tlingit, Nisga’a, Tahltan ,Ktunaxa, Secwepemc, Stl’atl’imx, Tsilhqot’in, and the Dakelh—to name a few) for millennia.

What is the deep, unconscious, connection that I have with the northern rainforests of British Columbia? Could it be that my ancestors are peoples of the northern rainforests?

This is my journey into pursuing that wild curiosity—uncovering the truths about the northern rainforests as my home.

This is my adventure into uncovering the ancient trackways that brought me to live amongst the Northern Temperate Rainforests of Canada—from my ancient ancestral beginnings in Northern Europe.

I am on a quest to discover the truth about where I come from—uncover what it means to be a person of Earth’s northern rainforests. This is the first instalment that will document my research as I attempt to to step into the ancient rainforest trackways of my ancestors.

I am guided by the ancient Celtic poem, an oral tradition that has been recorded and translated by Alexander Carmichael, in his Carmina Gaelic, 1900.

The Celtic Commandments

Give thou thine heart to the wild magic,

To the Lord and the Lady of Nature,

Beyond any consideration of this world.

Do not covet large or small,

Do not despise weakling or poor,

Semblance of evil allow not near thee,

Never give nor earn thou shame.

The Ancient Harmonies are given thee,

Understand them early and prove,

Be one with the power of the elements,

Put behind thee dishonour and lies.

Be loyal to the Lord of the Wild Wood,

Be true to the Lady of the Stars,

Be true to thine own self besides,

True to the magic of Nature above all else.

Do not thou curse anyone,

Lest thou threefold cursed shouldst be,

And shouldst thou travel ocean and earth,

Follow the very step of the ancient trackways.

From the Carmina Gadelica

A Northern Rainforest Person

My journey will begin with looking into what I already know about my Canadian family ancestry. Next, I will trace my DNA and research historical, genealogical, and historical documents pertaining to my ancestral journey. Finally, I will trek (more likely, saunter) through the natural landscapes of my Canadian and European homelands.

I want to explore what it means to be a person of Earth’s northern rainforests. I go forth hoping to uncover the ancient wisdoms of the multi-specie lives who call Earth’s northern rainforests home.