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Building Food Security in the Klamath
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The goal of the collaborative Klamath River Basin Food Security Project is to re
build
a sustainable food system that supports healthy communities, ecosystems and economies among the Karuk, Klamath and Yurok Tribes.
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| Viewing plant specimens at Karuk Tribal Herbaria launch |
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Ayukîi, Aiy-ye-kwee', Waqlisi, Hello!
This month, we bring you important updates about our cultural foods, from community meetings held on Sudden Oak Death (mid-Klamath) and a field trip to learn about Wocus (upper Klamath region). We're also celebrating the newly launched Karuk Tribal Herbaria (plant collections)! We're going back to school and to local gardens and orchards...there are lots of ways for you to get involved in Food Security in September!
Have questions or an item for the newsletter? Ask your local Food Security Coordinator, or call Edith in the Berkeley office: 510-643-9534.
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Fall acorn survey by Karuk Food Crew
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Sudden Oak Death and Food Security
Some of you may have heard of Sudden Oak Death (SOD). Those who have not should know that this forest disease infects a number of plant species and is often fatal to oak trees, including one of the most important Native food resources: xunyêep, tanoak.
Fortunately, the pathogen Phytophthora ramorum that causes this disease has not yet arrived in Karuk Ancestral Territory. However, at the Orleans SOD Community Meeting August 2nd, scientist Richard Cobb of UC Davis cautioned, "We have to be honest with ourselves and accept that this disease will arrive: the question is only when and where."
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Wocus flowers at Wocus Bay
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Focusing on Wocus
Wocus (the Klamath and Modoc word for yellow
pond lily, Nuphar polysepalum) once grew abundantly in Upper Klamath Lake and Upper Klamath Marsh. Highly nutritious
wocus seeds provided a staple food for the Klamath and Modoc tribes, and the plants helped to maintain water quality, fish habitat and ecological ba
lance in the headwaters of the Klamath. Today, poor environmental conditions have caus
ed wocus to all but disappear from areas where it was traditionally harvested. Where it remains, concerns about water quality deter people from using it for food.
"In my day the pods were huge," said one tribal elder. "Now they're little...because the lake is so yucky."
In late July, the Klamath Tribes Food Security Program organized
an interpretive tour
of wocus restoration projects and locations in and around former Tribal lands.
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| Herbaria specimen and materials |
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Karuk Tribal Herbaria Now Open
The Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources opened its Tribal Herbaria last month with the aim of
increasing people's ability to recognize, locate and consume food plants, while building knowledge about the importance of these plants for nutrition, health, and cultural preservation.
"The Karuk Tribal Herbaria provide a good representative sample of culturally significant food, fiber and medicinal resources collected from our Karuk homelands. With this resource, our staff can build upon a cumulative body of traditional ecological knowledge through shared learning with the next generation who will manage our natural resources," said KDNR Deputy Director Bill Tripp.
"While plants of importance to tribes are often collected by others, tribal herbaria are relatively rare. As one of the first herbaria created and managed by an indigenous people, this effort represents a valuable contribution to Tribal sovereignty."
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This Month on the River
Mid Klamath Watershed Council
This summer our community built food security in so many ways: the Happy Camp Farmers Market and Food Hub, Back to the Garden programs in Orleans and Happy Camp, chicken tractors,and much more! Time to celebrate -
MKWC invites you to get out your dancing shoes for the
Annual Harvest Festival!
Free Salsa Lessons! Tues AND Weds Sept 13-14, 6 pm,Panamnik Building, Orleans, CA
Youth Salsa-Making Workshop! Send us your kids! Tues Sept 13, 10 am- noon, Panamnik Building.
Annual Harvest Festival Thurs Sept 15, 5 - 9 pm, Panamnik Building.
- Salsa Dancing
- Homemade Salsa Contest
- Heritage Apple Tasting & Tree Adoption
- Mediterranean Dinner (sliding scale)
- Dessert Potluck (bring a dessert and get free food basket raffle tickets)
- Local Beer and Wine (Cabot Winery)....and More!
Juice @ Orleans Tribal Housing Tues Sept 13, 10 am, Orleans CA. Going door to door to press your apples and pears! For more information call Grant.
Canning Workshops with a Master Canner. Fri Sept 23, 10 am, Happy Camp, CA. Sat Sept 24, Orleans, CA. For more information [email protected], [email protected], or call 530-627-3202.
Once school is back in session, we're going Back to the Garden in Orleans and Happy Camp! Afterschool programs start soon. Contact Grant Gilkison for more information,
[email protected] 530-627-3202.
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. Regular activities include:
- Orchard Fruit Survey (Mondays)
- Traditional Food Groves Assessment (Mon, Tues, Weds)
- Back to the Garden Tuesdays (with Mid Klamath Watershed Committee)
- Herbarium Collection/Mounting (Thursdays)
- Basketry Materials Collection & Weaving (Thurs and Sun, weather permitting)
Special event for September:
Klamath Tribes
The nights are getting cold, but we're still harvesting
corn, squash, tomatoes, basil, peppers, and more in our Chiloquin greenhouse! Come on by the Community Garden for produce, or to volunteer.
Stay tuned for a Traditional Foods Workshop in early October. For more information: Perri McDaniel, [email protected] or 541-882-1487 x 235.
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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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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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Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Food Security Grant _ 2012-68004-20018
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