‘Our youth are hungry for their culture’
Coast Salish youths revive land management and harvest practices on ancestral prairie
Originally Printed on ICTNEWS.ORG:
SNEATLUM POINT, Washington — Charlie Sneatlum, a leader of the Skagit people, died in 1932 but his words live on to tell the story of this prairie before settlers renamed it and turned it into a pheasant farm.
The 175-acre swath of prairie was part of a 1,000-acre area southeast of p’t-sa-tl-y — modern-day Coupeville on the Western Washington island of Whidbey — that had been cultivated for centuries by the Skagit people and their relatives from other tribes, Sneatlum told the U.S. Court of Claims in 1927.
Marvin Velasquez, 11, Tulalip, identifies a patch of camas bulbs to dig April 15, 2023, at the beginning of a three-day Indigenous foods event at Sneatlum Point, Whidbey Island, Washington. Marvin dug the first camas bulb of the event. (Photo by Richard Arlin Walker for ICT)
Mersaedy Atkins, Colville, holds some freshly harvested camas bulbs April 15, 2023, on the prairie near Sneatlum Point in Washington State. The bulbs were gathered and then baked in a cooking pit with other traditional Coast Salish foods. (Photo by Richard Arlin Walker for ICT)
“Their hearts are in the right place. They are motivated by hearing some of the elders talk about how this is sacred ground, the knowledge that it represents, and that their generation can learn and experience it and bring it home and teach others.”
Two eagles circled above a group of young people digging their hands into ancestral soil, harvesting camas bulbs that descended from plants tended by their grandparents’ grandparents.
“This is a tactile experience, a sensory memory — the feel of the wet, cool dirt, the camaraderie with other people,” Price said. “They are developing core memories they’ll hold on to. They may not remember everything from the weekend, but they’ll remember the feeling of digging their first camas and feeding the people. It’s in their DNA, to be honest. The culture is awakening all over and our youth are hungry for their culture.” -Laura Price, cultural educator for the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe
Read the rest of the article here:
https://ictnews.org/news/our-youth-are-hungry-for-their-culture
More about the San Juan Islands
Special License Plate
Funds from the San Juan Islands Special License Plate go to awards that are made on an annual basis for local projects and programs that support the conservation and stewardship of agricultural, cultural, historic, and natural resources in the islands, with emphasis on youth engagement. It is expected that grant-making will increase each year as plate sales increase across the county, region, and state.
Purchasing a San Juan Islands Special License Plate is a great way to support stewardship in the San Juan Islands.
You can sign up online to get registered for this beautiful license plate featuring San Juan Island Artist Nancy Spaulding’s painting, Evening Passage.
Save money when renewing your tabs early and getting new specialty plates
Find out more at: https://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/spsanjuan.html
If your tabs expire in 6 months or less, you can save money by getting your new plates and tabs at the same time. By renewing early, you won't have to pay the following plate renewal fees the first year, and $28 goes to support Madrona Institute grants:
● $30 for specialty plates
● $42 for personalized plates
