This beautifully illustrated four-color volume is packaged in a box with an authentic Native American beaded friendship purse. As Grey Wolf and Andy Baggott point out, the Algonquian Indians saw this relationship as "the foundation of all exchange, trade, and knowledge." For them, friendship among their own people and with the settlers carried the seeds of trust, tolerance, and transformation.
The authors discuss the importance of gift-exchange among the Algonquians. It was a means of establishing mutual high regard. Of course, everything was viewed as on loan from the Great Spirit. Wolf and Baggott ponder the value of friendship as a mutual learning process where all that comes to teach us is seen as "medicine." They examine the Algonquian respect for stones, plants, and animals as carriers of lessons and power.
The authors also advise readers on the use of the friendship purse: "Take this gift into your life and let it help you to grow spiritually." Carefully choose the items to keep in it. Be sure that they contain good medicine to help you improve your communication with others. You might also perform simple ceremonies or rituals when you are adding or taking an item from your medicine bag.