Coast Salish Traditional View of Money

A lot of people think that "Money is the root of all evil". Money is actually nothing but a tool and has no inherent morality attached to it. In my life, I have seen good people do good things with money and bad people do bad things with money. Money is really just a store of time,energy and effort in the form of fiat wealth. My Coast Salish ancestors embraced the technology of printed paper money. Long before the Non-Indigenous people showed up on our shores, my people had a highly complex, evolved and prosperous system of banking and finance. We called it our "Potlatch". We used all sorts of items as money. We used dried clams, dried fish, dentalia shells, wild mountain goat wool and of course blankets.

Lately, younger people equate the use of money as being "un-cultural" - when nothing could be further from the truth about our traditional culture. The giving and receiving of wealth was considered an integral part of our culture as Cowichan Coast Salish people.

It was explained to me that "money" (or "tela" in our Hul'qumi'num language) is just a tool that we use when we are working to help one another, or another family. For example, in our Funeral Processes, after somebody has deceased, runners/collectors go to all Coast Salish communities and collect money from the extended community to help the family at this terrible time for them. When somebody gives some money in these circumstances... it's even said amongst our people that "this money isn't money now. It's a hankechif to dry the tears of those in mourning.