Sacred Ground

Erect stands the totem poles carved from Western Red Cedar trees Telling tales of gods and warriors buried by the river as it flows to the seas Marking the boundaries of these sacred grounds where our native brethren once roamed For many years and centuries before we drove them from their homes The graves bear no markings; the Great Spirit knows where each warrior can be found As he comes to collect each one of them and escort him to a happier hunting ground One of the warriors laid to rest there was known on earth by the name of Storm Cloud And he visits the burial grounds often accompanied by lightning and thunder roaring loud Map makers call this place Campbell River on Vancouver Island in Canada The natives who lived and then died here just called it the home that they did love And in the carvings on the large tree trunks that their fellow man did fell The stories of their life here, the figures and features so vividly tell by Joe Flach, written and posted on August 11, 2011