Program explores plant foods of past Pend Oreille Valley peoples

Meals are not just about filling up, but are also places and times where people get together to share company, ideas, and create meaningful relationships.

On Saturday, April 16, the Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society will present a program on the plant foods of those who lived in the area before. The program will take place in person at the Sandpoint Library, 1407 Cedar, and via Zoom.

For those attending in person at the library, coffee/tea and treats will be available beginning at 9:30 a.m. with announcements and program starting at 10 a.m.

The Kalispel people, who have lived in the greater Pend Oreille region since time immemorial, consumed a wide variety of plant foods in the past during these shared mealtimes.

Archaeologists with the Kalispel Natural Resources Department and Washington State University are working together to understand the numerous plant foods that were integral parts of past diets and lifeways.

Camas, an edible bulb common throughout the region, was a major staple for the Kalispel. But there were many other plant foods that were harvested and consumed, including glacier lily, nodding onion, huckleberries, raspberries, chokecherries, pine nuts and even kinnikinnick.

Furthermore, past people engaged with these plants specifically to increase availability and abundance, shaping the region for these subsistence goals.

The program will cover some of the edible plant foods of this region with deep time uses, cultural considerations, and even touch on ways to prepare these foods today.

This collaborative research is also part of ongoing restoration plans – by drawing from the past, together we can work towards a brighter future.

Information: programs@nativeplantsociety.org.