Food is the essence of culture, from the collection, to the preparation, to the serving and then the eating of food; it is what makes us who we are. It binds us to our families, our community, our history, our identity, and our home.
While there have been enormous changes in Coast Salish Native diet and culture over the centuries, a core value of food has survived: food is a blessing, gratefully and respectfully gathered and prepared, given and received with just as much gratification and respect.
Stories from the ancestors and the archeological record agree: Native Coast Salish peoples had an incredibly diverse knowledge about the food plants and animals of this region.
Archaeological sites around Puget Sound have found more than 280 plants, birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, shellfish and other marine life used as traditional Coast Salish cuisine. Testimony and knowledge from Coast Salish elders, hunters, fishermen, gatherers, and ethnographies has confirmed and added many more foods to that list.
In this short video, archaeologists Dr. Peter Lape and Dr. Robert Kopperl describe what they learned about traditional Native American foods from a survey of 130 archaeological sites in King, Kitsap and Snohomish counties:
Enormous changes came to Coast Salish diet and culture beginning in the 1850s. Non-Indian settlers rapidly altered ecosystems and restricted access to lands and waters, making it increasingly hard for Coast Salish people to collect traditional foods.
The reservation system was supposed to replace this loss, but instead it imposed new foods poorly suited to Native people’s nutritional and cultural needs. Coast Salish people struggled to adapt and keep alive the cultural values that have always guided how and what is good to eat. That struggle continues to this day.
Today, Native peoples are overcoming barriers to revitalize their relationship to traditional foods. The barriers are many—polluted shellfish beds, depleted or extinct fish runs, loss of access to land for hunting or gathering wild plant foods, forgotten recipes, the lure of fast food, and lifestyles that leave little time for food preparation and community feasts.
Many Coast Salish tribes, schools, and community groups are now working to revitalize the knowledge and values that have guided them for generations.
The core cultural values around food include:
We sat down with local tribal members and experts to discuss the traditions, special preparations, and greater meaning of food in their culture. Listen to their stories below:
Muckleshoot/Upper Skagit Indian Tribes
Traditional foods specialist, Northwest Indian College
Check out the following resources to find out more about the information presented in Salish Bounty: Traditional Native Foods of Puget Sound.
The Burke Museum created a traveling “Salish Bounty” exhibit to explore the deep history of Coast Salish diets and the reestablishment of more healthful and sustainable practices. The exhibit will travel to several museums and cultural centers across Washington State in the next few years. Visit our Traveling Exhibits page for more information.