Traditional Foods of Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations

Core foods of coastal First Nations (Tlingit, Haida, Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka'wakw, etc.):

• Salmon – Keystone species; caught via traps, nets, spears; eaten fresh, dried, smoked.
• Shellfish – Clams, mussels, oysters from intertidal zones; fresh or dried.
• Berries – Blueberries, salmonberries, huckleberries; fresh, dried, jams.
• Roots & tubers – Camas, wapato, potatoes; baked, boiled, pit-cooked.
• Deer/elk – Hunted (bow, spear, trap); fresh, dried, smoked.
• Marine extras – Seaweed, fish roe, herring, eulachon (candlefish) oil.
• Inland – Game birds, marmots, camas prairies managed by cultural burning.

Seasonal rounds followed resource pulses. Preservation (smoking, drying, oil-rendering) enabled winter survival and trade. Food = culture, ceremony, sovereignty.