I’ve been spending time up at Shasta Lake, and one of the places I always find beautiful is Sulanharas Creek. On a recent trip, I got curious about the origin of the name. It led me down a rabbit hole I didn’t expect… into the Wintu People’s creation stories.

The Wintu are the original inhabitants of the Shasta area. In their creation myth, a supreme being named Olelbis calls a meeting of his people in a great sweathouse. He asks these people of the higher world to become birds, fish, and animals to serve humanity. It’s a powerful moment, and it really struck me: the idea that being in service to others is woven into the very fabric of the natural world.

From the text:

Next morning Olelbis said: “Now, my grandmothers, what do you think best? What are we to do with the people here? Is it best for them to stay in Olelpanti?”

“Our grandson,” answered the old women, “send all that are not needed here to the lower world; turn them into something good for the people who are to come soon,–those fit for this place up here. The great people, the best ones, you will keep in Olelpanti, and send down only a little part of each of them to turn into something in the world below and be of use to people there.”

Olelbis called all who were in the sweat-house to come out, and he began to send them to their places.

To Kar he said: “Go and live on Wini Mem. Be a gray heron there; that is a good country for you.” (Before white people came there were many of these birds on that river.)

To Toko he said: “Go to Kawiken on Pui Mem. Be a sunfish and live there always.”

“You, Sula, go to the south of Bohem Puyuk on Wini Mem. Be a trout, and live at Sulanharas.”

What stays with me is the generosity behind this act. Every bird, every fish, even the trout in Sulanharas, comes from a spirit who chose to transform for the sake of future people. It’s a reminder that service isn’t something separate from life — it is life. And it’s written into the land itself, if you know how to look for it.