Becoming Native to the Land

Towards the end of last year’s hunting season, we answered the doorbell to see a good friend who was celebrating a day off by hunting and stopping to visit. His visit and his sharing of plans for the future reminded me of a piece I wrote several years ago about becoming native to the land, about the challenges both for the people who move to a new landscape and the landscape that they inhabit. The visiting friend and his family were the inspiration for the piece:

Difficult as successful adaptation can be, there are successful models, like the friend we welcomed. Born and raised in Wisconsin, he and his family have lived all over the world because of his service in the military. However, they became Montanan by:

• Regularly supporting local community efforts, from serving Thanksgiving dinner at the local homeless shelter to serving on the boards of local cultural and civic organizations.

• Using local materials, like the Icelandic wool from our sheep, to create signature handfelted handbags (see the photo to the right or visit the website at http://pikkahandbag.com/).

• Actively working to instill in military personnel a responsibility to the local by emphasizing the responsibilities that accompany hunting and recreating on private land. For example, this family organizes teams of young airmen and women who in return for hunting on our land help us to build fence.

• Reveling in the landscape, being inspired by it and seeing all it has to offer and enjoying its richness.

• Valuing agricultural land and not opting to buy 20 subdivided acres along the river for their piece of Montana. Instead, although they love the country, they have continued to live in in town, even after their children were raised.

• Understanding what it means not to impose their culture on the place, but to appreciate and be part of the culture of the land and how that makes Montana and Montanans unique.

In gratitude….thanks and best wishes for the road ahead, to the creator of Pikka Handbags!