'A-Ka-Lat' or now in English called James Island
....Thousands of winters before the arrival of the Drifting-House people or non-indigenous peoples, we, Quileute, and the spirits of our ancestors lived and hunted here. For as long as the ageless memory of our history recalls, we, Quileute, flourished in this territory which originally stretched from our isle-strewn Pacific beaches along the rain forest rivers to the many glaciers of Mt. Olympus, including Thunderbirds' Lair, now called Blue Glacier.Today, we need only lift our eyes to see the burial place of those of high rank atop James Island, or A-Ka-Lat -- which translates into English as "Top of the Hill". This cultural continuity is OUR birthright and heritage. Though much has changed, elders remember "back in the days" when the "old people" dared challenge kwalla, the mighty whale, and who recounted the exploits of wily raven or bayak, who placed the sun in the sky .... bet-sil sa'a'hoi!
