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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2022)
Tribal youth learn about preserving access to land, healing and restoration Greetings and blessings to the Siletz community. For those who don’t know me, my name is Jacob Reid and I’ve worked as the Youth Development coordinator for our Tribe’s Behavioral Health Program for the past three years. I first wanted to express deep gratitude to the rich array of programs and staff who helped make our Summer Prevention pro- gramming successful this year. Big shout out to Natural Resources, Culture, the Central Coast Watershed Council, Siletz Clinic garden staff, Admin, Accounting and Healthy Traditions. The dream for this summer’s program was to connect Tribal and community youth with the healing relationship to the land. We wanted to teach our youth that by taking on the responsibility of protecting and restoring our first foods and gathering spaces, we preserve access for our own healing and restoration. The foundation of our community’s health and wellness is the reciprocal relationship of giving back as much as we take. Through weekly summer outings, our youth learned about land stewardship and place-based learning. Our first trip was to Amanda’s Trail in Yachats, where we learned about the Siletz Trail of Tears and resiliency. Our second trip was to the Otter Crest tide pools, where we learned about stewarding sensitive environments, the history of sea otters, first foods and our ancestral role to take care of these places Courtesy photo by Stan van de Wetering Above: Tribal biologist Max Tice-Lewis demonstrates how to clean fish. Courtesy photo by Andrea Sumerau Below: Stan van de Wetering, Tribal Biological Programs director, talks to the group about salmon restoration. Courtesy photo by Zeph Mullins Bottom photo: Members of the group pick blackberries at the Tribal garden property. for future generations. On our third trip, our hope was to connect with our youth in the Lincoln City area, so we took a trip to the Taft beach to make sand candles (we dug holes in the sand and melted wax into them to make a candle with shells and other items). Our fourth trip was a collaboration with Natural Resources at the Tribe’s Lhuuke Illahee Fish Hatchery. Youth caught trout and learned how to fillet and smoke them, and they got into Rock Creek and caught crawdads. On our fifth trip, we kayaked part of the Siletz River where salmon habitat restoration work was tak- ing place. The youth learned about the history of Siletz people advocating for the river, the story of lamprey, river mussels and the intricate work of creating a healthy river for all the animals, fish and people. Our last trip was to the Tribe’s new garden property. Youth and staff picked blackberries to donate to a youth food giveaway and they learned about GIS plant mapping, marine science and beaver habitat restoration. It is hard to summarize all the lessons learned, but I do feel a deep gratitude for our Siletz heritage and bonds to this beautiful place. I want to acknowledge that many of our families and youth who want to participate in land-based activi- ties didn’t get to this summer and I really hope that as we emerge out of COVID we can create more opportunities to come together. Courtesy photo by Jacob Reid Courtesy photo by Stan van de Wetering Aviana Bokuro shows off her sand candle. Youth look at sea anemones through a viewing tube. Healthy Traditions by Beverly A. Owen New steps and a new path to getting food to our tables Recognizing the beat, the rhythm, the sound of old words and ways Of new words and ways, remember, remind, renew traditions, healthy traditions Fresh food, natural food, tasty food Looks good, smells good, tastes like … More! Something’s cooking! What’s that smell! Seeds have been planted Classes, instruction and demonstrations To some remembering, to some remind- ers, to some it is brand new Something’s cooking! What’s that smell! Seed planting and soil testing What is that, how does it grow? Community Garden, my garden, your garden, our gardens How does your garden grow? Hard work, lots to know, lots to do Grow your garden from seed, shared starts, neighbors helping hands. Partnerships, sharing information, plant trading, Elders lending a hand. Information gleaning! Everything from: What to do about your Oregon slug invasions to getting the most out of your harvest by knowing when to plant, how often and how much. How to protect our land, restore the soil, tilling, nitro and recycling, Taking care of the earth – everything goes hand-in-hand Canning, preserving and drying Smoking fish, dry meat and jerky! Learning to eat what is in season, waiting for the harvest, planning, and journaling Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall New and old traditions coming together Regaining traditions in families, growing, remembering, reminding, relearning Establishing the seed to soil in so many ways “Eat real food, feel real good” We dance on the ground in celebrations and in our life cycle we give back. We are closer to the ground, on the ground, in the ground, our seeds now bounding out of the ground, to the kitchen, to the table we spread our bounty of the earth’s generosity, that which we helped to grow. We’re doing it together as a community of families, children, parents, grandparents, friends, neighbors – all of us volunteers to make our gardens grow. September 2022 • Siletz News • 5