For many plant people, late spring is fondly known as “camas time.” Seeing the first blueish-purple blossoms in late April and early May brings joy and anticipation. Our beautiful Kaye ćabid—Grandmother Camas—encourages us to recognize and honor the gifts of the land and to come together in community. 

Native stories and cultural practices passed down through the generations teach us how camas prairies have been cultivated like gardens for thousands of years in the Pacific Northwest. Historically, many Native families traveled to prairies and camped for days to weeks to harvest camas bulbs, cook them, and preserve them for later use. Camas was a common native food for many people, as potatoes are today. Cultivation techniques including burning, aerating the soil with digging sticks, and weeding out unwanted plants helped to prevent the prairies from becoming forests. Without these practices, most of the prairies would have turned into dense forests thousands of years ago. Native People have taken care of the prairies, and the prairies have taken care of them in return. This reciprocal relationship continues today.

“An ecosystem isn’t whole unless it has Indigenous people on it.” 

-Phillip Brass (Anishnabek/Nêhiyewak)

‍

Intertribal Camas Digs

Camas is increasingly hard for Native People to access. Over the past 200 years, camas prairie ecosystems and the Indigenous cultural practices that maintained them have been severely disrupted due to Euro–American colonization and ongoing settler colonialism. These processes have resulted in the separation of tribal communities from the camas prairies of which they are an integral part. It is estimated that less than three percent of camas prairie ecosystems remain today. Despite these obstacles, many tribal communities continue to uphold the tradition of digging camas for food and for special ceremonies. They are also working to revitalize these Indigenous cultivation practices, and to increase the harvest and consumption of this important Native Food in their communities.

‍

For more than 15 years, members of our Native Plants and Foods Institute team have collaborated with tribes, Native families, and land management agencies to host intertribal camas harvests. These gatherings honor the generations of Native Peoples who have come together during camas time to gather food, share stories, build community, and give back to the land. Harvesters continue to gather camas with digging sticks that aerate the soil and promote the growth of young bulbs, and may also weed out invasive plants, like Scotch broom. Burning and replanting seeds are also a part of traditional prairie management. 

This year, we collaborated with the Squaxin Island Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, Ecostudies Institute, the Center for Natural Lands Management, Willamette Cultural Resource Associates, and Thurston County to host two intertribal harvest days. Emma Johnson (Cowlitz tribal member) and Mo Major were also part of the planning team. The first was at Stonewall Prairie Farm and the second day was at Glacial Heritage Preserve. 

‍

This year people came from communities such as Cowlitz, Skokomish, Quinault, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Swinomish, Yakama, Spokane, Puyallup, Coeur d’Alene, and Klamath tribes. Tribal students from Hood Canal School and Muckleshoot Tribal Schools also joined. The gatherings were intergenerational with Elders, children, and youth. Some have  harvested camas for decades and shared their expertise, while others were harvesting for the very first time. 

Stonewall Prairie Farm has a dense camas prairie and graciously opened their land for the first intertribal dig. Native People have not harvested camas on this land for over 100 years and there was a strong sense of intention and gratitude as people dug greater camas bulbs in a field thick with flowers. The second harvest day was held at Glacial Heritage Preserve. This prairie is a traditional harvesting and gathering place for local tribes including Chehalis, Cowlitz, and Squaxin Island. Being on the open prairie surrounded by flowers, pollinators, friends, and fellow harvesters brought a sense of joy and of being held in community. 

‍

Cooking Camas in an Earthen Oven

Camas bulbs are rich in nutrients including the carbohydrate inulin. They can be cooked through baking, boiling, and roasting. When slow roasted in an earthen oven for 24-48 hours, the bulbs become soft and sweet, but do not raise blood sugar. The Squaxin Island Tribe’s Salish Roots Farm crew dug an earthen oven and participants gathered to process the camas, heated rocks in a fire, wrapped the camas in skunk cabbage leaves for flavor and protection, and cooked them over the hot rocks in the pit for over 40+ hours.

Many hands helped open the pit, and the cooked bulbs were served at the community celebration.  

Learn about camas traditional cooking methods.

‍

Kaye ćabid Native Plants and Foods Community Celebration

Kaye ćabid means Grandmother Camas in Southern Lushootseed language. On May 10th, more than 100 people from across the Pacific Northwest came together to celebrate the work accomplished through a 6-year National Science Foundation grant (#1812543). Grant partners included the Swimomish Tribe, FEED 7 Generations, Oregon State University, Urban Indian Health Institute, and GRuB’s Wild Foods and Medicines Program (now Tahoma Peak Solutions’ Native Plants and Foods Institute). The grant supported tribal programs around native plants and foods, curriculum development, teacher trainings, and year-long tribal educator cohorts, as well as the development of the Native Plants and Foods Curriculum Portal. The portal houses five teaching toolkits and has been utilized by over 1,700 educators. 

Over 100 people joined the celebration from Oregon and Washington, including many participants from the Tend, Gather and Grow tribal internships and educators who have taken teacher trainings. Squaxin graciously hosted the event and provided food. Additional support came from the Regenerative Agriculture Fund and the Washington Coast Restoration and Resiliency Initiative. 

‍

Mariana Harvey (Yakama) opened the day with a story from her tribe about Grandmother Camas. In a time of great hunger, a Grandmother transformed herself into camas to feed the people. That love and care is still here today, and camas reminds us that we can practice reciprocity by receiving gifts with gratitude and giving back to both the land and to our communities. As one participant at the gathering said, “We are all seeds. We can grow where we are planted and can help nourish those around us.” 

‍

Celebration attendees played games, did plant-inspired activities, enjoyed native foods and beverages, and participated in workshops led by graduates of the Tend, Gather and Grow tribal internships and members of the Plant Teachings curriculum development team. In the afternoon, everyone joined talking circles to share stories, make connections with other educators, and envision next steps for the future. 

At the end of the day, participants enjoyed the camas straight from the earthen oven, and had the opportunity to try a traditional nettle, camas, and smoked salmon soup. They also participated in a culminating evaluation activity at the end of the event in which they were asked, “What ROCKED?”, “What idea or feeling is going to STICK with you?”, and  “Is there a story you would like to share?”

‍

What Rocked?

• It was so good to see everyone at the Saturday celebration, reaffirming the work and our bonds, hearing all of the stories about how the curricula are changing lives!
• My first camas tasting! More than anything I feel so honored to be in this beautiful community full of love, wisdom, intention, and integrity.

‍

What idea or feeling is going to STICK with you?

• The beautiful community here! It's amazing to be around other people who are passionate about de-colonizing environmental science and education. 
• Despite being knowledgeable about berry ID/botany, I have never been told a story about a plant to learn a lesson about it. This will stick with me—I’m thinking this is what/how a plant teacher works. 
• That humans are a part of nature, not separate or above.

‍

Share a Story

As a first generation of an immigrant, Plant Teachings made me aware that I can still weave the relationship/lessons my own ancestors passed on to me with the relationship/lessons/wisdoms/recipes Indigenous people of this place have passed on to the next generations. Plant teachers gave me the permission to feel a sense of belonging to this place as a steward and friend with all plant teachers.”

As an outdoor environmental educator, I see first-hand every week how these experiences can change peoples lives for the better. I am thrilled to see a holistic, culturally informed model that creates connections between people and nature to foster emotional and intellectual understanding. Children are not meant to learn facts; education means teaching students how to learn and to care about each other and the world around them.

‍

Learn More About Camas Educational Resources

Find camas resources at the Native Plants and Foods Curriculum Portal. After you read a teacher guide, watch a short video and agree to honor cultural protocols, harvest ethics, and copyright conditions, you can access educational resources from five teaching toolkits. 

‍

The Tend, Gather and Grow Teaching Toolkit includes an overview and three lessons on camas in the Plant Guide. Camas prairies are also featured in the Cultural Ecosystems Field Guide. Learn more here or access the materials on the Native Plants and Foods Curriculum Portal. 

‍

The Swinomish 13 Moons Curriculum features videos on seasonal plants and foods. May is the Moon of Digging Time. Watch a video and see an animated story about camas here. 

‍

Plant Teachings for Growing Social-Emotional Skills is a toolkit that includes mental health skills for 22 Northwest Plants and includes a book, cards, posters, movement videos, a teacher activity guide, a journal, and a calendar. The skill for camas is reciprocity—we can receive and give back. Learn about the curriculum on our website and order materials at Chatwin Books. 

‍

The Cedar Box Experience is an interactive website featuring the Swinomish 13 Moons videos, The Cedar Box Toolkit, Cultural Ecosystem from Tend, Gather and Grow, and games. Learn about camas in the cedar box and by exploring the prairie ecosystem.

‍