The Daily Herald has a nice story about a young Tulalip hunter sharing his first harvest with low-income and homeless urban American Indians and Alaska Natives:
Bagging his first deer was a rite of passage for 13-year-old Josh Hamilton. After bringing home the three-point buck, Josh had another tradition to honor.
On Tuesday morning, the young Tulalip tribal member climbed warily out of his grandfather’s truck in the middle of Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood.
A shy Totem Middle School eighth-grader, Josh was greeted on the sidewalk by staff and clients of the Chief Seattle Club, a nonprofit organization that provides support to about 200 low-income and homeless urban American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Josh was there to give away his butchered deer to help feed the people who frequent the club’s day shelter. He helped unload coolers of venison from the truck and carried the meat to the club’s kitchen.
“Our tradition is that when a boy gets his first deer, he must give it away to those who would appreciate the help,” Josh’s mother Andrea Hamilton said as she watched her son. “Josh knows his grandpa brings fish to the Chief Seattle Club, so he wanted to give his deer to our people here on the streets.”
