Salmon Spring Fling
Kiʔsuʔk Kyukyit Q̓apiniskiǂ,
As Ktunaxa, we are a party to the Columbia River Salmon Restoration Initiative (CRSRI) and on that note, I invite Ktunaxa Nation members to join me on World Water Day, which is March 22nd, 2022 at 5:30 PM for a salmon dinner and Zoom meeting.
This two-hour dinner meeting will include presentations about traditional knowledge related to our historic salmon fisheries including:
- Red Osier Vessels (traditional Ktunaxa fish cooking Kettles) and how they represent Kettle Falls in a way;
- Selective harvesting techniques using a variety of Fish Trap Techniques; and,
- What items to gather from the land, when to do it (i.e. Springtime), how to make baskets, traps, etc.
The first day of Spring is March 20, so what a way to kick start the season with preparation and knowledge about our past and planning for the future.
Please RSVP with me at troyd.hunter@ktunaxa.org as attendance is limited.
We will be sending out meal-in-a-box kits along with a video link so that all participants will prepare their salmon dinners according to the recipe and we will share this meal together.
It will be a Zoom meeting that involves all pre-registered persons to receive a meal kit in a box and we will be sending a link to show how the meal is prepared.
It will include salmon on the menu. Registrants will prepare the meal in advance of the meeting and we will share the meal together via Zoom.
Be prepared to learn and discuss about some of the traditional knowledge that we used such as traditional weaved cooking kettles, fish traps, spears, canoes, etc.
The purpose of the event is to teach about some things to gather from the land, how to gather, when to get it (Spring) and to also give people a tasty salmon recipe that is easy to make and inexpensive meal.
The TKL knowledge can be directly used in harvesting trout and kokanee, which helps with a sustainable harvest by selective methods.
I have examples of this and will be showing at the “Spring Salmon Fling” event.
The CRSRI long-term vision, is to:
1) return fish stocks for Indigenous food, social and ceremonial needs,
2) and to benefit the region’s residents and ecosystems as a whole.
On another note, I always advocate that we should have a buffalo farm as that is another one of our important staples, and I am hoping we can discuss this as well as starting some camas fields too (food security).
I would be interested to know if there is an appetite to provide salmon passage to the upper Kootenay River as the technology to get them to the Columbia Headwaters also makes this possible; the salmon would not come up the Kootenay because of the Bonnington Falls I do believe.
Please follow this project by clicking on the Follow Project button on the right.
We won't be flinging the salmon, we will be slinging it!
