12
S moke S ignals
JUNE 15, 2017
'We have a strong core of people'
FIRST FOODS
continued from front page
Ceremonial Hunting Board mem-
ber Jade Unger staked salmon
and brought 15 pounds of smoked
salmon and eight lamprey to cook
for guests. Tribal Elder Debi Ander-
son sat at a table cutting bite-size
pieces of lamprey and Cultural Re-
sources employees Brian Krehbiel
and Flicka Lucero received help
from several volunteers while fry-
ing the fry bread made by Culture
Committee member Faye Smith.
“I started learning how to do this
when I was in college at Portland
State University,” Unger said as he
whittled down a stick of dogwood.
“I had some Elders teach me their
method. They were really awesome
people. They showed me how to do
it (stake out a salmon filet). That’s
where I started doing it and I have
always liked this traditional way of
cooking. You can’t
beat it.”
Unger said he is
happiest when he’s
preparing salmon.
“I’m thankful
that I have an op-
portunity to be
here,” Unger said.
“I feel grounded by
it in terms of giving
other people enjoy-
ment from it and
exposing them to
something traditional. I feel really
good about it.”
Culture Committee member
Eric Bernando said the committee
planned for as many as 100 people
to attend the First Foods event.
Despite the fact that there were
only about half as many people as
anticipated, he said he hoped that
future events would see a larger
turnout.
A few minutes before 11 a.m.,
drummers gathered inside the
plankhouse to welcome every-
one and sing “New Beginnings,”
which was performed by Krehbiel,
Bernando, George, Tuomi, Glea-
son-Shepek, Chris Mercier, Jordan
Mercier, Tynan George, Nacoma
Liebelt, Mabel Brisbois and Hailey
Lewis-Little.
“Every day you wake up it’s a
chance to have a new beginning in
your life,” Krehbiel said. “Today you
have a new beginning to try some
food you never had before.”
Soderberg gave the invocation
and Jon A. George introduced
himself and other Tribal Council
members.
“We thank you for joining us to-
day,” Jon A. George said. “As Tribal
leaders standing before you, we are
honored.”
Chris Mercier said that he is in-
volved with Food Bank Coordinator
Francene Ambrose on the Food
Access Community Team and that
he loves all kinds of foods.
“A lot of people, when you talk
about Native culture, they think
of carving and they think of songs
and that is part of our traditions
and culture, but food is one of those
practices that has been hardest to
keep alive,” Mercier said.
“The ability to get back to our
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Culture Committee member Shayla Murphy cuts yampah to add to elk and
deer stew that she made for the Culture Committee’s First Foods celebration
held at achaf-hammi, the Tribe’s plankhouse, on Saturday, June 3.
Tasina Bluehorse, middle, adds
fry bread to a serving bowl as
she and Mabel Brisbois, left,
and Hailey Lewis-Little, right,
help prepare food for the Culture
Committee’s First Foods celebration
held at achaf-hammi, the Tribe’s
plankhouse, on Saturday, June 3.
Native diet will have long-term
health benefits for our people. The
more we can return to our dietary
roots the better off our people will
be in the long run so that’s why I’m
glad we are keeping this tradition
of first foods alive every year.”
Tuomi said she appreciated Chris
Mercier’s passion for first foods and
that she felt it was a “blessing to
be here with you to celebrate our
first foods.” She thanked everyone
for attending, as well as those who
prepared the food.
Gleason-Shepek said she hopes
Tribal members will see a day when
traditional foods return to be part
of everyday diets.
“I do hope we eventually get to a
point where it’s not just a ceremo-
ny that we’re eating these foods,”
Gleason-Shepek said. “This is that
first step to get there. I’m so happy
that we are all here today to share
in this. We’re making great prog-
ress. Thank you for all the hard
work that went into putting this
together.”
Jon A. George began the story-
telling part of the event when he
shared that he rarely saw the top
of the family’s kitchen table when
he was young because it was always
covered in newspapers for venison.
He also pondered the never-ending
Culture Committee Chair Francene Ambrose, right, speaks during the
committee’s First Foods celebration held at achaf-hammi, the Tribe’s
plankhouse, on Saturday, June 3. Next to her, from second from right, are
Tribal Council Secretary Jon A. George and Tribal Council members Chris
Mercier, Brenda Tuomi and Tonya Gleason-Shepek.
supply of bed sheets that his moth-
er used to wrap deer.
“I always wondered, ‘Where did
all the sheets come from?’ ” George
said. “I loved deer heart sandwiches
on white, buttered bread – that was
absolutely delicious.”
George said that he admired fam-
ily members for how they hunted
and gathered and, in later Reserva-
tion-era years, for their creativity
with government-issued commodity
foods.
“This is what they did to sustain
our people. This is what they did
to survive,” George said. “And we
ate grilled cheese sandwiches from
commodity cheese and chicken and
beef in a can.”
Ambrose, who is also Culture
Committee chair, said she wanted
to honor ancestors by keeping their
traditional way of gathering Native
foods alive for this and future gen-
erations.
“I look at today as a celebration
of who we are as a people and who
we are as a community,” Ambrose
said. “I have to thank the ancestors
who came before us who helped us
not just survive, but thrive through
culture. The songs that we learned
when we gathered provided good
medicine for our foods and we’re
bringing that here today to cel-
ebrate what they did carrying a
culture forward to present day.”
Ambrose introduced fellow Cul-
ture Committee members Joanna
Brisbois, Shayla Murphy and
Smith, and asked Jordan Mercier
to talk about Cultural Educa-
tion’s gathering and Native food
projects.
“It makes me happy to be a part of
this and to see everybody here and
the passion that everybody brings
to this day is inspiring for me as
somebody who really cares about our
traditions and our culture,” Jordan
Mercier said. “I really have a passion
for first foods and learning about all
of our foods and our basket materials
and the things that we used to gath-
er, the things that we are gathering
today. It’s really important work. We
have a strong core of people.”
Jordan Mercier said he felt good
about Tribal members preserving
traditions and keeping ceremonies
alive.
“We should feel good about all
the work that our Elders have
done to get us to this place where
we can focus on our first foods and
focus on our traditions and not
worry about having the right to
exist,” Jordan Mercier said. “It’s
been secured for us by all of our
Elders. We’re waking that stuff
back up and trying to rekindle
that fire. Today is a celebration of
all of our foods and a time for us
to get together.”
Culture Committee member Mar-
cus Gibbons sang the traditional
first water blessing ceremony.
“What matters is this is where we
start,” Gibbons said. “I’m honored
to be here among my Elders, my
peers.”
After the celebration and meal,
some attendees visited the Tyee
Nature Reserve near the Tribal
Housing Department office to learn
how to identify Native plants.