1964 was very hard winter here. Heap rain, then heap cold and snow, then heap warming rain melt new snow. There was much running water, more than anyone alive could remember. Bridges gone, washed away. Livestock and barns and homes washed away downstream.
All this followed by Alaska earthquake which make tsunami that kill many Palefaces and wash their village into sea. But that is another story...
Upstream from ocean, on bank of river, was located village of one local tribe. The People live there from time out of mind, so long. When water retreat from ancient ceremonial site, many new-old things were revealed, and there was heap excitement amongst learned men. Many Palefaces come, men and women, to carefully dig and carbon date the fresh discoveries. The People were o.k. with this to a point, but soon it was felt that many resting spirits were being released, and the Palefaces were made to stop digging.
The carbon dating process put the time of creation of the older objects uncovered at about 17,000 years ago. This heap old, even in Indian years, but it is an example of how ancient some villages are.
The many cultures are old, and in most cases, 'change' has been slow in coming--difficult and painful, and sometimes not coming at all. Indians first ravaged by new diseases, alcohol, sugar, and now, more recently by drugs. But 'change' is coming to more and more tribes, and we creep our way into first world.
