Before the Ships

Step into a world where knowledge is woven into the fabric of everyday life.

Watches With Patience, a young Haudenosaunee man, embarks on a journey of discovery across the diverse landscapes of Turtle Island-the continent his people have known since before memory. Guided by elders and mentors from different indigenous nations, he witnesses the intricate ways in which humans can live in balance with the natural world, preserving wisdom and maintaining relationships that sustain both body and spirit.

From the maple forests of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to the arid mesas of the Pueblo peoples, from the salmon-rich rivers of the Pacific Northwest to the buffalo-filled plains of the Lakota nation, Watches With Patience encounters technologies that exist not as tools and machines but as cultural practices, social structures, and deep ecological knowledge.

Each community he visits reveals unique adaptations to specific environments-ingenious ways of building, farming, hunting, and governing that have allowed indigenous peoples to thrive for countless generations.

But as he travels, Watches With Patience also encounters a growing threat-the arrival of strange ships from across the eastern ocean, bringing with them not just unfamiliar people but ideas and practices that could disrupt the ancient balance between humans and the natural world.

Through his journey, Watches With Patience learns not just practical skills but profound lessons about the interconnectedness of all things, the importance of community, and the responsibility to preserve knowledge for future generations.