FIRST FOODS

Members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, sisters Kim BrighamCampbell and Terrie Brigham own a fish market in Cascade Locks.

From soils bearing nourishing roots to waters harboring rich salmon and shellfish, Oregon abounds with edible treasures. These first foods have sustained local people since pre-contact with Europeans and continue to play a central role within Indigenous communities today. Tribes have undertaken many efforts to protect or restore traditional sources of nourishment, and tribal celebrations open to the public are an opportunity for everyone to better understand and experience first foods.

Salmon is not only a proverbial first food, it is also one of the first to arrive on the seasonal calendar in early spring, reappearing again in the fall. A vital, proteinladen food source, salmon is also a sacred source of life to many Pacific Northwest tribes. Ceremonial salmon feasts mark the beginning of the fishing season, paying tribute to the salmon, the water and the Salmon People. Celilo Village hosts the First Salmon Feast each April near the site of Celilo Falls, long an invaluable fishing and trading area for Columbia River Basin tribes. On the Coast, the Coquille Indian Tribe hosts the Mill-Luck Salmon Celebration in September on the shores of Coos Bay, featuring live dancing and drumming, canoe races and a traditional salmon bake, where salmon is cooked in pits buried under hot coals. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians’ Nesika Illahee Pow-Wow highlights another traditional method: roasting salmon on alder and cedar stakes over a smoldering fire. Roots, with their versatility and long shelf life, play a key role in the traditional diets and medicine of many tribes. Horsetail, biscuitroot and western redcedar are just a few of the roots harvested from local soils, but one in particular is valued most of all in terms of trade and nutrition: camas, a lily bulb typically roasted, steamed or pounded into flour. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is leading efforts to restore traditional camas-cultivation areas in its 11,500-acre reservation southwest of Portland, including at Wapato Lake (where soils also bear wapato, an edible starchy tuber). Near Pendleton, cous is part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s Root Feast each spring, when tribal members celebrate their culture and, quite literally, their roots.

Deer and elk are the most abundant large game in Oregon, and hunting is an integral part of life for many Indigenous communities. Game meat is prepared in many ways — roasted, steamed, boiled, smoked or dried into jerky and pemmican (a mixture of dried meat or fish, fats, and berries). You can expect to find deer and elk at the Nez Perce Tribe’s Tamkaliks Celebration each July in Wallowa.

Berries and nuts — including salal, huckleberries, hazelnuts, chinquapins and acorns — thrive throughout the state. Wild huckleberries are so delicate that Pacific Northwest tribes traditionally used fine combs created from salmon backbones to gently harvest the tiny fruit from the bush. Tribal members continue to gather huckleberries today on traditional berry-gathering areas found at higher elevations. Prized for their sweet and slightly tart flavor, huckleberries are enjoyed fresh, sun-dried, or smoked and mashed into leaf-wrapped cakes for future storage. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs celebrates the ripening of wild huckleberries each August with its annual Huckleberry Harvest event.

These and many other first foods have provided nourishment to people since long before Oregon was Oregon. You can help support ongoing sustainability efforts by avoiding foraging or hunting on tribal lands and in traditional gathering areas. Respect the Indigenous cultures that have nurtured these foods for future generations to enjoy.