Copyright 2021 © Skeetchestn Indian Band | Powered by ROI Media Works
There are approximately 60 – 70 different species of plants including root crops and berries collected and utilized throughout the community.
Loss of traditional and cultural activities has happened throughout the years. One way to bring back the traditional ways of gathering is to continue exercising our rights.
Report 1890 On the North-Western Tribes of Canada By F. Boas.
Pg. 637-638: At the time when the berries begin to ripen an overseer is set [by the chief] over the various berry patches, whose duty it is to see that nobody begins picking until the berries are ripe. He announces when the time has come, and the next morning the whole tribe set out and begin to pick berries, the field being divided up among the tribe. After they are through picking, the berries are divided among the families of the tribe. The chief receives the greatest portion. In the same way an overseer is set over the salmon fisheries, and the catch is divided among the whole tribe.
Report 1890 On the North-Western Tribes of Canada By F. Boas
Pg. 636: Their household goods are made principally of basketry, in which they excel. Basketry of the Shuswap and Ntlakya pamuq is sold extensively to the tribes of southern Vancouver Island. Their baskets are made of roots of the white pine. The roots are dyed black with an extract of fern root. and red with an extract of alder bark or with oxcide of iron. Very beautiful patterns are made in these three colours. Baskets are used for storing, carrying, and cooking provisions.
For information on Pine Baskets
Contact: Carroll Draney, Email: carroll_draney@hotmail.com, Phone: 250.373.2577
Mail: Carroll Draney P.O. Box 316 Savona, BC, Canada V0K 2J0
There are approximately 60 – 70 different species of plants including root crops and berries collected and utilized throughout the community. Loss of traditional and cultural activities has happened throughout the years. One way to bring back the traditional ways of gathering is to continue exercising our rights.
Report 1890 On the North-Western Tribes of Canada By F. Boas
Pg. 637-638: At the time when the berries begin to ripen an overseer is set [by the chief] over the various berry patches, whose duty it is to see that nobody begins picking until the berries are ripe. He announces when the time has come, and the next morning the whole tribe set out and begin to pick berries,the field being divided up among the tribe. After they are through picking, the berries are divided among the families of the tribe. The chief receives the greatest portion. In the same way an overseer is set over the salmon fisheries, and the catch is divided among the whole tribe.
There are approximately 60 – 70 different species of plants including bitterroot
Bitterroot is found in areas among sagebrush or ponderosa pines, from British Columbia to southern California; east to Colorado, and Montana (where it is the state flower)
A low lying plant with comparatively large pink to nearly white flowers that bloom on short stalks. The flowers are 1.5-2.5 in (3.8-6.3 cm) wide, with leaves 0.5-2 in (1.3-5 cm) long and height of 0.5-2 in (1.3-5 cm).
The root of the Bitterroot plant is used as a traditional source of food. The roots were peeled and cooked or dried for winter use. Bitterroot is was considered a valuable plant and it figured prominently in trade. Shown here are community elders passing on their traditional knowledge of Bitterroot harvesting to the youth.
| Latin Name | Common Name |
|---|---|
| Abies lasiocarpa | Subalpine fir |
| Acer glabrum | Douglas maple |
| Achillea millefolium | Yarrow |
| Actaea rubra | Baneberry |
| Agrostis scabra | Hair bentgrass |
| Agrostis stolonifera | Creeping bentgrass |
| Agropyron repens | Quackgrass |
| Alnus crispa ssp. Sinuata | Sitka alder |
| Amelanchier alnifolia | Saskatoon |
| Anemone multifida | Cut-leaf anemone |
| Angelica arguta | Sharptooth angelica |
| Antennaria racemosa | Racemose pussytoes |
| Antennaria spp. | Pussytoes spp. |
| Aquilegia formosa | Sitka columbine |
| Arctostaphylos uva-ursi | kinnikinnick |
| Arnica cordifolia | Heart-leaved arnica |
| Arnica fulgens | Orange arnica |
| Arnica latifolia | Mountain arnica |
| Aster conspicuus | Showy Aster |
| Aster foliaceus | Leafy aster |
| Aster Subspicatus | Douglas Aster |
| Astragalus americanus | American milk-vetch |
| Astragalus miser | Timber milk-vetch |
| Aulacomnium palustre | Glow moss |
| Calamagrostis canadensis | Bluegrass |
| Calamagrostis rubescens | Pinegrass |
| Carex athrostachya | Slender-beaked sedge |
| Carex disperma | Soft-leaved sedge |
| Carex rostrata | Beaked sedge |
| Cerastium arvense | Field chickweed |
| Chimaphila umbellata | Prince’s-pine |
| Cinna latifolia | Nodding wood-reed |
| Cladina rangiferina | Grey reindeer lichen |
| Cladonia spp. | Cladonia spp. |
| Climacium dendroides | Palm moss |
| Clintonia uniflora | Queen’s cup |
| Cornus canadensis | Canadian bunchberry |
| Cratoneuron filicinum | Spring claw moss |
| Danthonia intermedia | Timber oatgrass |
| Dicranella rufescens | Dicranella moss |
| Dicranum scoparium | Broom moss |
| Drepanocladus uncinatus | |
| Eleocharis palustris | Common spike-rush |
| Elymus glaucus | Blue wildrye |
| Epilobium angustifolium | Fireweed |
| Epilobium ciliatum | Purple-leaved willowherb |
| Equisetum pratense | Meadow horsetail |
| Equisetum arvense | Common horsetail |
| Equisetum scirpoides | Dwarf scouring-rush |
| Erigeron peregrinus ssp. Callianthemus | Showy daisy |
| Erigeron speciosus ssp. Speciosus | Subalpine daisy |
| Festuca occidentalis | Western fescue |
| Fragaria virginiana | Wild Strawberry |
| Galium boreale | Northern bedstraw |
| Galium triflorum | Sweet-scented bedstraw |
| Geocaulon lividum | Bastard toad-flax |
| Geranium richardsonii | White geranium |
| Geum macrophyllum | Large-leaved avens |
| Goodyera oblongifolia | Rattlesnake plantain |
| Heracleum lanatum | Cow-parsnip |
| Hieracium albiflorum | White hawkweed |
| Homalothecium aeneum | Golden curls moss |
| Hylocomium splendens | Step moss |
| Juniperus communis | Common juniper |
| Juniperus scopulorum | Rocky mountain juniper |
| Lathyrus nevadensis | Purple peavine |
| Lathyrus ochroleucus | Creamy peavine |
| Ledum grandulosum | Trapper’s tea |
| Lilium columbianum | Tiger lily |
| Linnaea borealis | Twinflower |
| Lonicera involucrata | Black twinberry |
| Lupinus arcticus | Arctic lupine |
| Luzula parviflora | Small-flowered wood-rush |
| Lycopodium companatum | Ground-cedar |
| Lycopodium dendroideum | Ground-pine |
| Marchantia polymorpha | Green tongue wort |
| Mitella nuda | Common mitrewort |
| Mnium spinulosum | Flapper moss |
| Muhlenbergia cuspidata | Plains Muhly |
| Orthilia secunda | One sided wintergreen |
| Oryzopsis asperifolia | Rough-leaved ricegrass |
| Oryzopsis pungens | Short-awned ricegrass |
| Osmorhiza chilensis | Mountain sweet-cicely |
| Parnassia fimbriata | Fringed grass-of-parnassus |
| Pedicularis bracteosa | Wood betony |
| Peltigera aphthosa | Freckle pelt |
| Peltigera canina | Dog pelt lichen |
| Petasites frigidus var. palmatus | Palmate Coltsfoot |
| Petasites sagittatus | Arrow-leaved Coltsfoot |
| Phleum alpinum | Alpine Timothy |
| Picea engelmannii | Engelmann spuce |
| Pinus contorta | Lodgepole pine |
| Plagiochila aspleniodides | Cedar-shake wort |
| Plagiomnium insigne | Badge moss |
| Plagiomnium medium | Trailing leafy moss |
| Platanthera dilatata | White bog-orchid |
| Pleurozium schreberi | Red stem feather moss |
| Poa pratensis | Kentucky bluegrass |
| Pohlia cruda | pohlia moss |
| Pohlia nutans | Red-cap moss |
| Polytrichum juniperinum | Juniper haircap moss |
| Populus balsamifera | Black cottonwood |
| Populus tremuloides | Trembling aspen |
| Potentilla diverseifolia | Diverse-leaved cinquefoil |
| Ptilium crista-castrensis | Knight’s plume |
| Pyrola asarifolia | Pink wintergreen |
| Pyrola minor | Lesser wintergreen |
| Pyrola uniflora | Single delight |
| Ranunculus uncinatus | Little buttercup |
| Rhytidiadelphus loreus | Hanging basket moss |
| Rhytidiopsis robusta | Pipecleaner moss |
| Ribes cereum | Squaw current |
| Ribes hudsonianum | Northern black current |
| Ribes lacustre | Black Gooseberry |
| Rosa asicularis | Prickly rose |
| Rubus idaeus | Red raspberry |
| Rubus pedatus | Five-leaved bramble |
| Rubus pubescens | Trailing rsapberry |
| Salix spp. | Willow spp. |
| Scolochloa festucacea | Spangle-top |
| Senecio canus | Wooly groundsel |
| Senecio pseudaureus | Streambank butterweed |
| Senecio triangularis | Arrow-leaved groundsel |
| Sheperdia canadensis | Soopolallie |
| Smilacina stellata | Star-flowered false Solomon’s-seal |
| Sphagnum squarrosum | Shaggy peat moss |
| Spirea betulifolia | Birch-leaved spiarea |
| Stellaria crispa | Crisp starwort |
| Streptopus amplexifolius | Clasping twisted stock |
| Symphoricarpos albus | Common snowberry |
| Taraxacum officinale | Common dandelion |
| Thalictrum occidentale | Western meadowrue |
| Thuidium recognitum | Lacy fern moss |
| Tiarella unifoliata | One-leaved foamflower |
| Timmia austriaca | False haircap moss |
| Trifolium pratense | Red clover |
| Trollius laxus | Globeflower |
| Urtica dioica | Stinging nettle |
| Vaccinium caespitosum | Dwarf Blueberry |
| Vaccinium membranaceum | Black huckleberry |
| Vaccinium ovalifolium | Oval-leaved blueberry |
| Vaccinium scoparium | Grouseberry |
| Valeriana sitchensis | Sitka valerian |
| Veronica hederaefolia | Ivy leaf speedwell |
| Veronica wormskjoldii | American brooklime |
| Viburnum edule | High-bush cranberry |
| Viola canadensis | Canada violet |
| Viola glabella | Stream violet |
