Salmon are fundamental to all coastal peoples, and are a symbol of regeneration and life. Many myths tell of people taken to the undersea world of the Salmon who return with secret knowledge and powers. According to Salish legends, the salmon were people with superhuman abilities and eternal lives. They lived in great houses under the ocean but since they knew that humans on land needed food, they offered themselves to the land based tribes as food by turning into salmon fish. Their spirits were returned back to the ocean where they were reborn.
