Gabe Babcock of Milwaukie, a sculptor and ceramic artist, is delving for the first time in a new medium and subject with a strong message — life with and respect for the fish. (Bill Monroe)
He’s morphed into the “Salmon Boy.”
The reference is a legend among Pacific coastal tribes involving a boy. (Tribal societies were male-dominated, but in these days of powerful female involvement in conservation, it’s more of a “Salmon Child.”)
At mealtime, the boy rejects a piece of salmon, tossing it aside in disrespect.
Later, while playing near the river, he’s kidnapped by the salmon people (in some versions, he drowns and is swept to sea, where they adopt him) and goes to live with them, gaining a new admiration and understanding of the salmon people and their remarkable life’s journey.
