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Building Food Security in the Klamath: December 2016/January 2017
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| Yurok Food Security - crabs for distribution. Photo by Chris Peters. |
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Ayukîi, Aiy-ye-kwee', Waqlisi, Hello!
At the midpoint of our 5th project year, we are thinking about how to sustain the Food Security accomplishments, made possible by the hard work of so many folks up and down the river, into the future. Last month we told you about the Karuk Tribe's new 4-year grant for the
Pikyav Field Institute, which will allow the Tribe to continue and expand its Food Security work. Permanent space is another piece of the sustainability puzzle, and this month the Klamath Tribes' Food Security program is happy to share an
exciting update!
In the short term, we're getting ready for the holidays! We'll be making edible medicinal wreaths for our elders and learning to bake bread and treats in the Mid-Klamath. Herbarium collection continues on the coast along with Native seafood distribution, and improvements to our Food Security garden in the Upper Basin are in the works! Please join us this month for the final
Food Security events of 2016.
Wishing everyone a happy and peaceful holiday season,
Project Director
Have questions? Talk to a local Food Security Coordinator:
Chris Peters, [email protected], 707-464-1852
Crescent City and Klamath, CA (Yurok Tribe)
Earl Crosby,
[email protected], 530-469-5434 (Interim, for
Youth Camps, Community Gardens, Herbaria, Food Crews, Native Foods Workshops, Orchards, and Ishkêesh'túnviiv)
Orleans, Happy Camp, and Yreka, CA (Karuk Tribe)
Lisa Hillman, [email protected], 530-627-3446 (for Pikyav Field Institute, K-12 Curriculum, and Sípnuuk Digital Archive)
Orleans, Happy Camp, and Yreka, CA (Karuk Tribe)
Grant Gilkison, [email protected], 530-627-3202
Orleans and Happy Camp, CA (Mid Klamath Watershed Council)
Perri McDaniel, [email protected], 541-882-1487 x 235
Chiloquin and Klamath Falls, OR (Klamath Tribes)
Got news? Tell Edith in the Berkeley office: [email protected], 510-643-9534.
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Produce from Chiloquin greenhouse will be processed in the new kitchen. Photo courtesy Perri McDaniel.
 Cooking Up Long-Term Food Security: Klamath Tribes Plan Community Learning Kitchen
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Our food not only nourishes our hearts, minds, bodies and spirits, it keeps us connected to our culture. To know a culture is to know the food. In the words of Winona LaDuke, 'Our people can't recover until we recover our foods.' For all of these reasons and more, we're excited to work together with the Klamath Tribes' Youth and Family Guidance Center to create the dedicated space we all need. The new building will keep our programs, and our community, healthy and growing!"
- Perri McDaniel, Klamath Tribes Food Security Coordinator
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Chiloquin Community Garden has produce for all. Photo by Edith Friedman. |
The Klamath Tribes Food Security Program has come a long way working to eliminate food insecurity in the upper Klamath Basin. Since early 2013, we have put up seven greenhouses in Chiloquin, Beatty, Klamath Falls and Sprague River, OR; graduated 68 students from the "Seed to Supper" 6-week gardening program; held twelve canning classes and traditional foods workshops; and sponsored eight tribal members through the OSU Master Gardeners Course. Last but not least, we have steadily grown our community garden, which this year offered free, fresh produce through November in Chiloquin, OR. With one paid staff person and three part-time seasonal gardeners, these successes have been possible with the committed help of partner organizations, high school and college students, and our wonderful community volunteers.
An ongoing challenge for our expanding program has been not having our own kitchen, meeting, or food storage space. Klamath Tribal Health & Family Services has very little tribal trust land due to
federal termination in 1954, and we have been operating for four years out of a 30-year-old former dental clinic modular building next to the Chiloquin community garden. We had started raising funds to renovate the tiny kitchen. Then in October the modular next to ours, housing the Youth & Family Guidance Center, was destroyed by fire. Renovations had to be postponed, but out of the fire came a new opportunity. Staff decided to pool our resources and build a new building that can house both programs together!
We are grateful to the Cow Creek Foundation, First Nations Development Institute, Meyer Memorial Trust, and Oregon Community Foundation, which have all committed to funding construction along with Klamath Tribal Health & Family Services. We look forward to welcoming you to our new Food Security community learning kitchen, food storage and distribution center in the not-too-distant future!
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This Month on the River
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| Chickens from pot to plate in Seiad Valley. Photo by Laura Jaffe-Stender. |
Karuk Tribe
The Karuk Tribe and our Food Security Team cordially invite all community members to participate in our continuing Food Security programs every Monday - Thursday in Orleans and Happy Camp, and on Wednesday 12/14 in Yreka, CA. Programs are weather dependent! If you have questions, please ask Earl Crosby or Romnay Beck 530.627.3446 ext. 0. Regular activities include:
- Orchard Pruning, Traditional Food Harvest, Traditional Food Groves Assessment
(Mondays and Tuesdays)
- Gardens in Happy Camp (Wednesday 12/21 only)
- Herbarium Collection/Mounting (Thursdays)
- Basketry Materials Collection & Weaving (Thurs and Sun, weather permitting)
SPECIAL EVENT:
Edible Medicinal Wreath Making - 12/7 in
Happy Camp, 12/14 in
Yreka, and 12/20 in
Orleans. We hope to see you there!
Klamath Tribes
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| Preparing salmon for the new smokehouse. Photo by Perri McDaniel. |
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Building team with new smokehouse. Photo courtesy Perri McDaniel. |
Last chance for veggies - it's getting COLD in Chiloquin, but we still have swiss chard, tomatoes, lettuce, beets, kohlrabi and turnips for the asking
at the Chiloquin Community Garden! For open times contact Perri McDaniel, [email protected] or 541-882-1487 x 235.
Attention, High School Students (and anyone else looking for service or volunteer hours): we need YOUR help to redo our compost bins, prep the greenhouse for winter, and build a community sweat lodge! Call or email Perri for more info.
Canning Workshops - we'll teach you to make jam in January, in Klamath Falls and in Chiloquin, OR. Interested? Let Perri know and she'll send details ASAP.
Mid Klamath Watershed Council
Sourdough Bread and Sticky Buns Workshop - Family
-friendly baking with Melinda Stearns. Bring the kids along! Saturday, December 17th, Panamnik Building, Orleans, CA. More info: Grant Gilkison, [email protected], 530-627-3202.
Afterschool Thursdays in the Garden have moved indoors for the season, but are continuing in Orleans, CA. For more, contact Grant.
Chicken Tractors - MKWC will be hosting a Chicken Tractor Building Workshop series in early 2017. What's a chicken tractor anyway? Interested? Contact Mark Dupont, [email protected], 530-627-3202 to learn more.
Adopt-a-Tree - Learn to plant and care for your own heirloom fruit tree grafted by MKWC and the Karuk Tribe. For more information, contact Mark.
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Seiad Elementary pie bakers! Photo by Laura Jaffe-Stender. |
Yurok Tribe
Food Security Tech Seagull Jordan is crabbing and making labels for the
Yurok Tribal Herbaria this month. Want to help out? Contact Chris Peters, [email protected], 707-464-1852.
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| Pressed plant specimen. Photo by Chris Peters. |
UCCE
UC Cooperative Extension's FRTEP (Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program) program will have 2 part time positions available soon. One person will help teach youth development curriculum Sources of Strength in a Hoopa school (10 hours/week), and work on food, community and youth-related projects (8 hours/week). The second person will work hands-on
in school gardens and classrooms
projects in Weitchpec and Pecwan (10 hours/week).
Interested? E-mail Deborah Giraud at [email protected] and she will let you know when the application is ready!
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Weitchpec community garden. Photo by Chris Peters. |
FOOD SECURITY RESOURCES
Wondering what, where and when to plant? Visit the Mid Klamath Watershed Council
Foodsheds pages
for excellent free online info on the vegetables and fruits that grow best here, along with planting calendars, soil, and disease prevention advice.
Keep in touch with us! Find upcoming events, see photos, ask questions, let your neighbors know what's going on in the foodshed! All that and more on the
Foodshed Facebook page
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NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
Missed an issue? See what your Food Security team has been doing
here.
The Karuk Tribe's new
Sípnuuk Digital Library supports food security and sovereignty with information on our regional food security issues, solutions and knowledge of traditional and contemporary foods and materials. Easy to use and open to all - sign up now!
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The goal of the collaborative Klamath River Basin Food Security Project is to rebuild a sustainable food system that supports healthy communities, ecosystems and economies among the Karuk, Klamath and Yurok Tribes.
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