This journey changed the lives of many Nisga'a. Like salmon, they feel an inner need to return to a particular river, a particular home.
Mansell hopes he can live in his home community someday. He has started applying for jobs and looking for work in the Nass Valley.
“It's like a big hug, this valley,” he said.
“I am Nisga'a. I am a mother. I am independent, but I want to have the comfort of home.”
House. It was a constant theme throughout the journey, as was a sense of belonging. These Nisga'a came with questions, looking for something – and many of them, like Lawrence, found it.
“Touching the ground and breathing the air refreshes me,” he said while standing on the bank of the Nass River. He says he will feel out of place in Vancouver when he returns there.
“Now I'm here for the first time and looking at where my family comes from, I definitely deserve to be here.”