A new publication co-authored by a Suquamish elder and a local archaeologist sheds light on how tribal members traditionally used the flora, fauna and marine resources of the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years.
Suquamish tribal member Ed Carriere teamed up with retired Washington State University archaeologist Dale Croes to write Living-Off-The-Land for 4,000 Years on the Salish Sea, a comprehensive look at Carriere’s childhood growing up learning how to harvest and process traditional foods and plants, aligned with regional archaeological data that shows how tribes traditionally used the area’s resources dating back 4,000 years.
Published by the Journal of Northwest Anthropology, the work is specific to the 20-mile radius of Carriere’s 80-acre allotment in Indianola on the Port Madison Indian Reservation, focusing on how he was raised by his great-grandmother Julia Jacobs, who taught him how to use the resources on their property. The allotment had been owned originally by Chief Jacob Wa-hal-chu—one of the signatories to the Treaty of Point Elliot and last chief of the Suquamish Tribe—and was passed down to Jacobs and then to Carriere.
“I have worked my entire life upholding the pride in our allotment lands,” Carriere said. “I mostly hope this work would honor how we used my great-great-grandparent’s Chief Wa-hal-chu and Wes-i-dult, my ka’? great-grandmother Julia Jacobs and now my Suquamish allotment into the future.”
Through hours of interviews, Carriere detailed various harvesting methods and uses of 44 resources, including shellfish, fish, birds, mammals and berries, plus plant materials used for weaving harvest baskets and making cordage for fishing nets and mats for shelter.
During their research, Carriere and Croes dug into regional guidebooks to better identify the resources that Carriere discussed. They also referenced interviews with Jacobs from the 1950s that detailed the many resources Carriere mentions. In addition to using archaeological data from the Old Man House site, where Julia first lived, near Carriere’s allotment, they also referenced records from eight other archaeological sites throughout Puget Sound, including Bainbridge Island, Port Orchard, Vashon Island, South Seattle and West Point.
“We believe this work adds considerable insights into over 200 generations of peoples living in Ed’s region of the Salish Sea,” Croes said.
The co-authors approached this project using a methodology called Generationally-Linked Archaeology (GLA), which chronologically connects from both directions, linking shared ideas (i.e. cultures) of contemporary Indigenous practitioners with ancient and ancestral peoples through the science of archaeology (i.e. the study of site’s artifacts, fauna and flora).
Carriere and Croes first used this method for exploring Carriere’s life as master of Salish Sea basketry, resulting in a similar publication. For this project, Croes termed their effort Generationally-Linked Ecological Knowledge because it adds the ecological component of their work.
“Our hypothesis is that if it works well for complex basketry styles and techniques, it should work well for these same people’s other cultural practices, in this case, use of Salish Sea natural resources,” Croes said.
“You could say I learned how to make a ‘living-off-the-land’ through the teachings of my ka’? great-grandmother Julia, who learned from her parents and family, and Julia taught her large extended family who taught me,” Carriere said. “I guess that’s what Dale means by his idea of Generationally-Linked Ecological Knowledge!”
The book can be purchased at nwtt.co/suquamishbook.
Suquamish elder Ed Carriere holds up an example of a nettle fiber gill net he constructed. Story by Tiffany Royal; Photo by Dale Croes.
