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The following transcript is protected under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License. Link to Audio and Episode Info Here
Show Transcript Deconstructing Dinner Kootenay Co-op Radio CJLY Nelson, B.C. Canada June 3, 2010 Title: Exploring Ethnobiology I - Preserving Traditional Foodways
Among Indigenous Youth Producer/Host: Jon Steinman Transcript: Nicole Dawkins Jon Steinman: And welcome to Deconstructing
Dinner - produced in Nelson, British Columbia at Kootenay Co-op Radio CJLY and
heard on radio stations around the world including CICK 93.9FM Smithers, B.C. I'm Jon Steinman. In
May 2010, Deconstructing Dinner immersed itself into the field of ethnobiology
- ethnobiology being the scientific study of relationships among peoples,
plants, animals and environments. It's a field of research that Deconstructing
Dinner has come to recognize represents an invaluable
depth of knowledge for anyone interested in the subjects of food security and
food sovereignty. As peoples throughout the western world increasingly are
seeking to reconnect with their food,
there's a lot to be learned from
ethnobiologists and in particular their research subjects - most often
indigenous peoples around the world who are too
seeking to protect and maintain their relationships with their environments and
their food. These relationships are in almost all cases incredibly dynamic and
can offer all peoples some critical wisdom and knowledge on how we can all
responsibly preserve existing food systems and build new ones. Having spent
many days attending two ethnobiology conferences held on Vancouver Island, we
now have in our possession and ready to share an inspiring series of recordings
which, over the coming weeks and months, will make up this Exploring
Ethnobiology series here on Deconstructing Dinner. increase music and fade out In the coming
weeks and months, we'll be learning about many topics that revolve around this
subject of ethnobiology. We'll be listening to a one-on-one interview with
well-known Canadian ethnobiologist Nancy Turner of the University of Victoria
who describes in detail what ethnobiology is, where the field of research is
going and how ethnobiology can play a role in supporting the principles of food
security and food sovereignty. To share a list of upcoming topics that we will
be covering, here are just a few.... *the ethnobiology of beekeeping, *commercial harvesting of bushfoods
in central Australia, *reinstating indigenous food practices in an urban
landscape *the immaterial components of food sovereignty *traditional harvesting of eelgrass off the northern
coast of Vancouver Island *the use of salt and salt substitutes among the Cherokee *and, cereal grain farming in Iroquoia So those are
just some of the topics that we'll be featuring as part of this "Exploring
Ethnobiology" series. But launching
the series today, we'll hear audio from what might stand as the most inspiring session that we
recorded... it was a forum of indigenous youth
who have recently been engaged in a digital storytelling project. As is now
commonly found among many indigenous communities worldwide, many youth have
become significantly if not entirely
disconnected from the traditional ways of their ancestors. One of the responses to this threat that some of those youth have employed is
found among the Nuu-chah-nulth people whose territory
stretches 300km along the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island. Nuu-chah-nulth (which translates to "all along the
mountains and sea") are a family of 15 First Nations and connecting some of
their youth has been the Nashuk Youth Council a project of Uu-a-thluk
- the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council's Aquatic
Management Board. Uu-a-thluk enables 15 of their
First Nation communities to work collaboratively with other governments and
groups for the sustainable management and economic development of ocean
resources within their territories. Involved in carrying out that role has been
the Nashuk Youth Council who have been seeking out
stories and knowledge from their elders about their people's traditional foodways. Those stories and knowledge are in turn being
shared digitally by the youth through
short videos that each of them have since produced. In May 2010,
the Nashuk Youth Council took to the podium at the 12th
International Congress of Ethnobiology hosted in the community of Tofino. The gathering brought together ethnobiologists and
others interested in the field from around the world to share their research
and stories. For the next
hour we'll hear from those youth,
we'll listen in on their digital stories and we'll also hear from others at the forum who shared their heartfelt
comments on the importance of young people like the Nashuk
Youth Council who are seeking out their heritage and their way of life through
food. The forum was
launched with introductions from some of
the youth council members including some introductory words from the chair of
the Nashuk Youth Council - 18-year old Nickie Watts of the Tse-shat
First Nation in Port Alberni. Nickie also introduced
and shared her short film titled "Pool of Cheap Labour," which, like the many
clips we'll be listening to today are all linked to in their original visual format at www.deconstructingdinner.ca. Nickie Watts: Hi everyone, my name is Nickie
Watts and I'm from the Tseshaht, Port Alberni area,
and I am the chair of the Youth Council. Keenan Jules: Hello and welcome everybody, my
name is Keenan Jules. I am from Tseshaht and Kyuquot and I am part of the Nashuk
Youth Council. Herbert Mountain: Hello my name is Herbert
Mountain but I would rather be called Tony. I am from Alert Bay in Stoney Creek. I have been a part of Nashuk
for a couple of months now. Damon Van-Tarrant Rampanen: Hello
everybody and good morning. My name is Damon Van-Tarrant Rampanen.
I am from Ahousaht and Hesquiaht
and I have been a part of Nashuk Youth Council since
it began, for a couple of years now. Nickie Watts: So basically what we are going to talk about
today is youth participation and leadership and youth being more active in
their communities and in everything that involves our future- because most of
you guys are working towards the future and the next generation. We are going
to talk about just being involved, especially with our Youth Council, we have
been jumping into things that usually youth aren't involved with. A lot of
people have been coming up to us and asking for youth voices. Part of our Youth
Council is about learning about our heritage and where we come from. A lot of
youth today, especially from the communities don't know where they come from
and about their heritage. So I will be showing my digital story up next. It is
about me, my family and where I come from, my daughter and traditional foods.
When the digital story comes up, you will see that my daughter will not be
eating the traditional foods- instead she'll be eating something else. Nickie Watts' digital story: Our elders
talk about how, with the new generations, we are losing the knowledge- that it
is disappearing before our very eyes. With every elder who passes, the stories
pass with them. Along with the stories, we are losing traditions. The way we
used to live as First Nations. With our new houses, our cars, and our
drive-thru food, we as First Nations people are losing who we are. When the
white man first came and built the residential schools, he wanted us to change
so that we acted like them, to change everything about us as people. They
wanted us to be a pool of cheap labour for their industries-and if they could
they would have changed our skin colour too. The whole
purpose of the schools was to change who we were, to change the way we live, to
kill our culture- and we fought it. We as people fought it so hard. Then
finally, when the potlatch ban was over and the last residential school was
closed, we celebrated- we were accepted, finally. But now our
young ones are refusing to learn, to keep everything we fought so hard for. So
after all this time, we may lose what we have tried so hard to keep- and it's
our children who are going to change everything. Now which way they go? It is
up to us and not them, us. Now today,
as the tradition dies what happens to our children: the new generations? I am a teen
mom. I can date my heritage back eight generations, back to when we lived on
the Broken Group Islands where we had no electricity and we hunted, fished and
harvested our own food. There was a recent exhibition of painted ceremonial
curtains at UBC where my family's traditional curtain with me and my daughter
was depicted. That curtain contained all the women and the generations on it. My name is Nickie Watts and I am Tseshaht
First Nation in Port Alberni, BC. My native name is Hit-a-ook, which
means "into the fire." I am 18 years old; I was 15 when I had my daughter. She
is 2. Before my daughter, I didn't see what was important and what I needed to
do for my community. Now I am part of a First Nations Youth Council. I am the
Chair, actually. I am one of those few First Nations youth who is trying my
hardest to keep this culture alive- to see it going strong, even after the
Elders have all gone. My mother grew
up with my great-grandmother and because of that she holds onto a lot of the
old values and traditions. My great-grandmother's name was Elizabeth Gallick and my mother lived with my great-grandmother
because her mother was an alcoholic. And normally you wouldn't think that would
be a blessing, but because of it my mother holds a lot of knowledge and brings
it down to me and my daughter. When my mom was still a teenager, she was
acknowledged by an old man from Ahousaht named Camina. During a tribal council meeting he gave her a
carved and painted paddle and said, "you are the best dancer of your generation
of Nuu-chah-nulth
women. We still hold that paddle in our house today. I come from a
very respected family because we still hold many of the traditions brought down
from generation to generation. And because we still hold many of the
traditions, we still use medicine found around us and harvest right from our
home land. When we get sick we drink tea from certain tree bark, we pick
berries in the summer, fish in the spring, herring eggs right after winter. We
pick cedar bark from May to June, and crab all year round. (applause) Jon Steinman: That was the audio from the
digital story produced by Nickie Watts of the Nashuk Youth Council. The video was presented in May 2010
at the International Congress of Ethnobiology held in Tofino.
The visual version of her story along with the many others we'll be hearing on
today's show are archived on-line and linked to from the Deconstructing Dinner website. Another digital story shared at the forum was produced by
Waylon Andrews and titled, "Taking the Sting out of Nettle." The story was
introduced by Keenan Jules who first shared his
thoughts about the digital storytelling project. Keenan Jules: I am going to talk about how great
of a tool it is for youth, being that we live in a technology-based society-
everyone is on computer and uses them for everything. It's a great tool for
youth because it is easy. We can simply take pictures and edit them on a
computer, and use that to present to other youth what we have learned in a
simple manner that we understand and show it on the internet, iPods. There are just so many ways we can present and show
what we have learned to everyone out there in the world. Last month, we
went to Victoria to do this. It is where we made all of our digital stories. It
was a fun experience, very easy and you can see how youth would enjoy doing
this. I would like
to introduce videos that other youth, along with us, in Victoria- I would like
to show their videos. Waylon Andrews's digital story, "Taking the Sting
out of Nettle": (guitar in background): My
name is Waylon Andrews, I am the son of Jesse Chennery.
One bright sunny day, the two of us, my little brother and two of my friends,
Andrew and Carl, went to harvest sting nettle. After a few stings and more than
a few groans, we startled to get into the swing of it. Walking deeper and
deeper into the forest, we found larger patches of nettle. Taking just as much
as we needed, we decided to start heading back. After falling
and sinking into many mud pits, we were all covered in dirt and grime, my
brother most of all. We finally made our way back home and started researching
uses for nettle. We found that you can use it to make surprisingly strong rope,
very healthy tea, you are able to steam it and eat it, use it as a strong
energy drink, or help for arthritis, it is a great natural fertilizer and it is
one of the healthiest greens in the world. We also found a way to bring down
the sting of the nettle with another plant called plantain. After chewing the
leaves of the plantain into a paste, you rub the paste into the area where you
have been stung. Within a half hour you should begin to feel relief. Stinging
nettle grows in larger quantities in areas that have been disturbed: clearings,
rich soil areas, ancient villages and median areas. It is an uncertainty
between many people if nettle is indigenous or if it was introduced from
Europe. Both may be true: North America has types of nettle that are not found
in Europe and vice versa. Named "Indian Spinach" both coast Salish and interior
tribes ate the young leaves and stems, but no one is sure if this had always
happened or if it was introduced by Europeans. As a rope
stinging nettle is incredibly strong; the First Nations would use it to make
fishing nets, snares and lines. To treat arthritis with it they would whip the
plant across the area that had hurt, and it was said to help. But maybe you
just don't notice the arthritis when you were stinging all over. The flavour of
the nettle is similar to spinach and eaten almost the same way. The boiling or
steaming of the plant softens the stinging hairs to the point that they are
ineffective, though I always found that my mouth buzzed a little bit after eating
it. Elders would use the water from boiled nettles as a weak but very healthy
tea. The nettle plant can vary from three to seven feet high, and is covered in
very fine, soft hairs as well as harder, stinging hairs tipped with a barb that
comes off when brushed against. It than injects three different chemicals with
really long names, so they must not be really great to have in your body.
Nettle today is one of the most valuable herbal remedies, and can treat
anything from excessive bleeding, to breaking down kidney stones. This is a
plant that we will all want around, and hopefully it will be for a long, long
time. (applause) Jon Steinman: Waylon Andrews and his digital
story titled, "Taking the Sting out of Nettle." Nickie
Watts and Waylon Andrews' digital stories are great introductions into the other youth productions that we'll be
listening to on today's show, but also speaking at the forum and providing
another great introduction into the work of the Nashuk
Youth Council was John Rampanen of the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First
Nations. John has worked closely with the youth on their digital storytelling project. He believes that the battle
that these youth are taking on is the toughest one his people have ever
undertaken, because the departure from traditional ways that so many indigenous
communities are struggling with is most noticed among youth. John Rampanen: The Nuu-chah-nulth
People are proud people: we are a whaling people; we are warriors; and perhaps
under all of that we are storytellers. Since time immemorial, since the first
days of creation for our people, our teachings have been passed on generation
to generation through the form of storytelling. We call it haahuupa,
the teaching stories. Traditionally it was our grandparents who would sit with
us and haahuupa young grandchildren, up to the age of
about 5 or 6. They would spend day in and day out with their grandchildren,
teaching them through many, many stories we had-stories of their own life
experiences, stories with colourful characters, stories that had all these
wonderful underlying morals. And these stories would be told repeatedly
throughout our lives. They would be told to us at different intervals,
different stages of our life, and would bear with them different meanings and different
purposes. We would interpret them different depending on what stage of life we
were in. So as a child we may hear one story and we would gather certain pieces
of knowledge and information from it. As an adolescent we would hear that exact
same story and we would again interpret it differently and carry with us a
different message and a different moral. And again as adults, we would listen
to the story and we would again receive different teachings and information
from the same stories. And of course when we became Elders ourselves, we would
pass those teachings back on in the continuous cycle of the stories, and the
impact of them, the meaning of them would continue to move forward. So, for
thousands of years our people had formed this way of life that was crafted
here, in this specific region of the world. We established this relationship,
this connection with the environment around us, with the land. We became
masters of the sea. We established a spiritual connection and recognition with
all life that was around us, and started to appreciate the interconnectedness
that we hold as human beings with all of life that surrounds us, whether it's a
rock or a tree or an animal or a fellow human being. We appreciate and respect
that there is a spiritual aspect to everything around us. And that spirituality
has been integral to our survival as First Nations Peoples. Our ability to
prepare ourselves, to cleanse ourselves, to protect ourselves, has staved off
disease, and illness and sicknesses and other things for thousands of
generations. But over the matter of just a few generations, that has all
changed. It has changed
very abruptly for our people. And now we are living in a time, and in a reality
where we need to reflect back on this recent history and start to identify what
is it that changed. What are those fundamental pieces within our way of life
that changed? How has that change impacted us? How can we shift back to a more
traditionally-based lifestyle? Through some
of the work that we've been doing with the Nashuk
Youth Council, we recognize that we can't go back to a completely traditional
way of life. But we appreciate that there are some fundamental strengths and
values that exist in the teachings of our grandparents that need to stay alive.
But they need to be told in a different way. We have also recognized that many
young people today do not connect very strongly or meaningfully anymore with
their grandparents. We recognize that this is an area that needs to be
strengthened. So Nashuk Youth Council has done their part to shorten that
gap between the elders and the youth and they have used a series of different
tools. You've heard of some of the impacts of colonization that my nephew Damon
shared earlier, the onset of disease like measles and smallpox when Europeans
first started to arrive; the development of the Indian Acts system, the
incorporation of the Residential Schools system, the banning of our potlatch
and our ceremonies which lasted for approximately 67 years. There were many,
many hardships that were put in front of our people in the last short little
while in our history. What really encourages me is the fact that our people
still remain. Our people, our cultures, our spirituality are still there. It
has survived through all of these hardships, and there is something that is
still intact, that our Elders carry with them in their memories. They need to
pass that off to the next generation, so that they can use their voice, so that
their voice becomes stronger so that they can share it, not only with their
peers within their communities but with people worldwide. To say: this is who
we are as Nuu-chah-nulth people. This is our
ancestry, this is where we come from. This is what makes us who we are, this is
what makes us proud to be who we are. And they've
done a wonderful job of this so far. One of the tools that they have been using
we call digital storytelling. We recognize that the generation of today is born
into a technologically advanced society compared to even the generation that I
was from, and definitely from that of my parents and my grandparents. We've
also recognized that that lifestyle contributes to that gap that exists between
Elders and youth. Many of our Elders are computer illiterate and have
difficulty accessing internet opportunities that are out there, and yet the
youth are very well versed in that and engage in a lot of social networking and
other measures within that particular realm. So we
recognized that this is a weakness, this is a deficiency but this can also be
turned around- a double edged sword. It can also be used as an opportunity for
our people. What we've done over the last few months is, we've brought Elders
and youth together here in Tofino, from around
Vancouver Island and we have encouraged those conversations to take place.
We've encouraged the Elders to share teachings, with a theme around traditional
indigenous foods, the knowledges and practices around
those foods, and we've encouraged those conversations to happen. And not only
for those conversations to take place between the Elders and the youth, but
we've encouraged the youth to document those conversations, to record it with
audio equipment, with digital cameras and to edit it later on, and to share
those teachings with their peers and their communities. And perhaps
even more importantly than that, is not just having those conversations,
documenting and sharing it, but it is taking it back into your community and
breathing life back into those practices. We feel it is very important to not only
talk about who we are, who we were, what our practices were what the knowledge
is that our ancestors have passed on to us, but even more importantly, we need
to bring those practices back and make them alive again. These youth are doing
a wonderful job of providing that service to our communities. I mentioned
earlier that we are whaling people, we are warrior people, and I recognize
these young people as being warriors among our communities. I really commend
them for the work that they do because the battle, the confrontation that they
are taking on is probably the hardest one that we have had to endure as First
Nations peoples because it has absorbed right into who we are. Internally, we
are struggling to maintain a connection with our spirituality, with our culture
and with our language because there is a dominate society that surrounds us,
and influences us, and has instilled those changes within our way of life. And
yet these young people bravely take it on, on a day to day basis and encourage
others, and in fact, there numbers continue to grow. It is really optimistic
and hopeful to see that that is taking place. So digital
storytelling is one of the tools that we use. We use it to build our
communities, and re-build our culture, and to tell these stories. These stories
that young people have to share are important to be heard, and be shared
afterwards. So I'd encourage all of you, as witnesses and observers to the
stories that they share, to continue that gift of generosity that they are
sharing today and share it with others. Pass it on to other people, especially
to other young people in other indigenous communities. So that they may learn
from some of the efforts that are taking place here, or vice versa, that we may
learn from other efforts that are happening in other places as well. With that, I
just want to again commend the work that Nashuk Youth
Council has been providing to our communities, and I look optimistically and
hopefully towards a much brighter future for these young people, for my young
children, and for their next generations as well. Thank you. (applause) Jon Steinman: This is Deconstructing Dinner
and that was John Rampanen of the Ahousaht
and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation addressing the 12th
International Congress of Ethnobiology held in Tofino,
British Columbia. Deconstructing
Dinner attended the congress and today's episode marks part 1 of our series
Exploring Ethnobiology - ethnobiology is a scientific field of research
involving the relationships among people, plants, animals and ecosystems. On
this part 1 of the series, we're listening to recordings from a youth forum
where all delegates at the congress listened in on the work of the Nashuk Youth Council. Shared as part of the forum were the
digital stories described by John Rampanen - two of
them we heard earlier on the show...and yet another digital story produced as
part of the project was created by Belinda Lucas. Belinda Lucus: Hello, my name
is Belinda Lucas, and I am a young lady from Hesquiaht
First Nation. I am a student attending the VAST education center, and a member
of the Nashuk Youth Council. Our youth council was
brought together about a month and a half ago. We came together because all of
us wanted to do the same thing: we wanted to learn more about our culture,
language, traditions and where we come from. We also wanted to get more youth
involved in learning about our Nuu-chah-nulth ways. Our very first
gathering was held in Ahousaht and it was a really
good turnout. Our second gathering was held in Bamfield,
and the third was held in Tahsis. This past year we
have travelled back and forth to Tofino for retreats,
we have learned a lot in the past couple of months. The Ahousaht
singers met us in Tofino to teach us some songs and
to share dinner with us. That same evening Tom Curley came in and talked to us
about our traditions. He told us, "Don't be scared to speak out loud because
everyone wants to hear what you have to say, don't worry about making mistakes
because no one will care." Our youth
council learned a lot together, such as: how to harvest fish eggs, we learned
little bits of language, a few songs and dances, we learned about medicines,
and we learned of the role of Tyee Ha'wilth, the chief. We went for some forest walks with
Gisele Martin and learned about the plants you can eat. We learned a lot of
different traditions from Elders who are from different tribes. We are now
learning how to host a conference. Being a part
of this youth council has really made a big change in my life. I have learned
how to respect myself, others around me and the environment. It has shown me
that I am not alone and that we are all one. This youth council has helped me
to remember who I am as a young Nuu-chah-nulth
lady. Being a part of a group like this just helps me to understand just how
important it is to learn our language, culture and traditions, not only for me
but for the younger generations of kids. I love teaching my little brother what
I have learned and what I am still learning today. Traditional
foods are a big part of my life, I have learned a lot from my Elders. I love
listening to my Elders because it is so important for our future. The Nashuk Youth Council has brought me joy and pride to be who
I am today. (applause) Jon Steinman: This is Deconstructing Dinner,
produced in Nelson, British Columbia at Kootenay Co-op Radio CJLY. I'm Jon
Steinman. You were just listening to a digital story produced by Belinda Lucas
of the Nashuk Youth Council. Another of the
youth members sharing their thoughts at the Ethnobiology Conference in Tofino was Damon Vann-Tarrant Rampanen
from Ahousaht and Port Alberni. Before Damon shared
his digital story with the congress,
he spoke about colonization and residential schools, stories of which remind us
of some of the key points in time when traditional indigenous foods and
practices were lost. His recounting of events also helps reinforce why the work
of sharing stories on traditional foods is so important among indigenous youth. Damon Vann-Tarrant Rampanen: I'm going to
be talking about the topics we have been covering over the past years, 3 years
which means passing on the grandparents teachings, and with that I am going to
be talking about colonization and residential schools. But before I get into
that, I just want to say that the first step in engaging youth and hearing
their voices, is getting youth involved and informed. One way to do this is
through peer-education. We first got involved with the Uu-a-thluk,
and learning about our culture and shaping our future through peer-education.
We learned about Nuu-chah-nulth history and culture and
then taught it through nanaiiqsuu haahuupa,
which means sharing the grandparents' teachings-through the past years we have
been studying culture, such as traditional ways to gather food, medicine,
everyday tools and language. We have gone back as far as the Europeans and have
made our through a timeline to present day. We have talked about colonization
and about when Europeans first arrived here and put First Nations people on
reservations and started the residential schools. Residential
school had one of the biggest impacts on our history when Europeans first
arrived. The effects of colonization on First Nations people were big. They
made us change who we are, from the way we dress, to everyday life and slowly
downsized First Nation people populations. In 1778 Captain James Cook was
discovered by Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations. In 1868,
the Act for the Gradual Civilizations of Indian Peoples was passed, also known
as the Indian Act. With that, there was the creation of Reserves, the puppet
Band Council was established - The Canadian government defines Indian based on
blood quantum. In 1884, a law was passed prohibiting face painting, potlatches,
smokehouses, sundances, marriage ceremonies etcetera.
In 1890 the
residential school system was put into effect. When the residential schools
started children were taken away from families and forced to learn and adapt
new teachings of the Europeans. They were told to forget everything that they
know: their language, songs, dances, and teachings from the grandparents. First
Nations kids were beaten if they spoke the language, and highly punished to the
point that kids shut down in fear. They didn't have names in residential
schools, they were given numbers- and to this day there are people who still
know their numbers. Young children were raped by the people involved because
they couldn't do anything about it, and if they tried, they would be punished
and beaten. To this day,
youth are colonizing ourselves by the clothes we wear, the games we play and
how we must buy something because so-and-so has it; and if you don't have it,
you don't want to be known as the kid who doesn't have Call of Duty or an iPod. Jon Steinman: Damon Vann-Tarrant Rampanen speaking in May 2010. Damon also shared his digital story which he produced as part
of the Nashuk Youth Council's efforts to share
stories about their traditional indigenous foods. Damon's digital story is
about his grandfather and titled Veres Alku or New Beginnings. Damon Vann-Tarrant Rampanen:
I'd like to introduce my video, and it means a lot to me. My video is
about a man who moved here when he was seven years old from Finland. He was
born in 1943, during World War II. It was very hard at that time, so he
migrated to Canada. That man would be my grandfather, John Rampanen.
His Finish name is Calivi Johannes Rampanen. I'd like to show you my video. Damon Vann-Tarrant Rampanen
digital story "Veres Alku or New
Beginnings": My name is Damon Vann-Tarrant Rampanen.
I am a Nuu-chah-nulth
youth from Ahousaht. My First Nations name means
"whale jumping out of the water" and I live in Port Alberni and I'm part of a
youth council who are getting back in touch with their history and culture. I
want to talk about a man who means so much to me and has given me teachings
throughout my life. When I think about traditional foods, I think about my
papa. He has helped my family carry on tradition: he fishes, he sets out traps, he
hunts deer, he knows what's good to use from venison and what's bad. He's an altogether,
everything kind of guy. Although he's
not Nuu-chah-nulth, he has acquired a lot of skills
and knowledge of our people and he passes this on to his grandchildren. My papa
is a very unique person. Although he was not born here, he has made a very
strong connection to the land. This is his story. My papa was
born in Loviisa Finland during World War II. His
given name is Calivi Johannes Rampanen.
He was born December 25, 1943. After World War II, Finland was in war debt with
Russia and life was hard. After the war, Calivi's
father Joel was a mason and sauna maker. One day a healthy Finish-Canadian was admiring
a sauna that he built and invited Joel and his family to move to Canada. Calivi moved here to Canada with his family. His father
Joel Rampanen, his mother Lampi
Rampanen, his sister Silka
and her husband Oka, and brothers Eric and Danny.
They wanted a new beginning but adjusting here at first was difficult because
the new culture, the new language and new change. That prompted Calivi to change his name to John. His family took a vacation to British Columbia and fell in
love immediately because it reminded them of Finland. Through the 1960's and
70's, John travelled throughout B.C. as a logger and fisherman. As an outsider
to Canadian culture, he was always closer to First Nations people. His
willingness to learn and connection with nature provided him the opportunity to
gain teachings from the First Nations people. John married
Charlotte Seitcher in the
mid 1970's and they have been together for 39 years, and legally for 35. They
started a family together: Tamara, Joe-James and John Rampanen.
Each has been taught traditional culture and food; and to this day John still
teaches his family the traditional ways. One day John went to a restaurant and they were waiting to
order some food when the waitress brought out a bottle of ketchup. Not knowing
what this red, thick liquid was, because there was no such thing as ketchup in
Finland, he still wanted to be polite and eat it. Soon after they had finished
having some of this mysterious red stuff, the waitress came back and saw they
had finished it, and so came back with an even larger bottle of ketchup. They
all started to shout, "no more, no more!" When my papa told us this story, it
brought back joyful memories of his past with his brothers and sisters- I
haven't seen my papa laugh so hard in my entire life. My papa has been a big inspiration in my life, because he
proves how you don't need to be First Nations to live the lifestyle and
culture. I am grateful for all the teachings my grandfather has passed down and
continues to teach me every day. And I will continue his teachings to the
future grandchildren when I am older. (applause) Jon Steinman: This is Deconstructing Dinner
and that was the digital story produced by Damon Vann-Tarrant Rampanen and shared with delegates of the International
Congress of Ethnobiology held in Tofino, British
Columbia. Damon is a member of the Nashuk Youth
Council. The digital
story which is also available in video format and linked to from the Deconstructing Dinner website, was presented in May 2010 to the 12th
International Congress of Ethnobiology held in Tofino,
B.C. Deconstructing Dinner attended the congress and today marks part 1 of our
Exploring Ethnobiology series which will be featuring recordings from the Tofino
gathering and another conference held just prior to that one in Victoria. The Nashuk Youth Council is a project of Uu-a-thluk
- the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council's Aquatic
Management Board. The Nuu-chah-nulth people are made
up of many First Nations whose territory comprises much of the Pacific coast of
Vancouver Island. With many of those communities losing touch with their
traditional ways of life (and as is the focus of today's show, their
traditional foods), many Nuu-chah-nulth youth are
learning about those traditional foods by accessing the knowledge from their
elders and sharing those stories digitally,
producing short films made up of photos and recorded storytelling. Another of the
youth who spoke earlier and who also
shared his thoughts about the Nashuk Youth Council before sharing his digital story was Keenan Jules. Keenan Jules: I'll just start off by listing
a couple accomplishments that we have achieved. So, last month we were in
Victoria and we were named 2010 Food Champions for all the hard work and
dedication towards learning traditional foods and traditional ways of getting
this food and fishing. We have
organized and planned a youth conference for a year- it has taken a year to
plan and prepare. We have been learning the importance of our culture, what it
means to us and how important it is to keep that tradition going throughout the
generations. For the past
few months we have been learning song and dance from our teacher Greg Charleson. He has been teaching us the Nuu-chah-nulth
anthem and dance, the Kwiquatha. We are going to be
doing those songs and dances in our youth conference coming up, so it should be
exciting. (applause) So basically
our future goal is to learn all our traditions and hopefully learn our language
more-maybe eventually fluently- and pass this on as we grow older and there is
more youth around us, and influence other youth to learn the tradition too. To
learn where they come from and how important it is to keep this tradition alive
as it is fading as time wears on. (applause) Jon Steinman: And here's Keenan Jules digital
story. Keenan Jules: My name is Keenan Jules and I
am from Port Alberni. I come from Tseshaht and Kyuquot First Nations and I am part of the Nashuk Youth Council. Over the years
many factors have come into play that have affected our resources for gathering
our traditional food. Factors such as: the arrival of the Europeans, the
introduction of newer, unhealthy foods, and our ecosystem taking an enormous
impact over the years. Fast food has played a huge role in the way that we, as
First Nations people, live and eat. Overtime we have almost completely stopped
eating our traditional foods, and eat fast foods that are affecting our health
almost daily. Environmental
contamination has been a long standing concern for First Nations peoples since
the early 1960's. Mining, energy and forestry projects, chemical pollution from
industries, toxic waste management, depletion of the Ozone layer, and global
warming have disrupted ecosystems and have caused climate change affecting
species populations, endangering wildlife and disrupting natural cycles. Before
Europeans arrived Oolichan grease was a prime trading item and the Kwakwaka'wakw people eagerly anticipated the arrival of Oolichan each year. First Nations people could fish and
hunt without any laws forbidding us to hunt and fish. When the Europeans arrived, it wasn't long before Europeans
had begun to trade foods from their homelands. Foods like flour, beef, chicken,
pork, sugar, molasses, and other items such as alcohol and tobacco were shipped
in by the ton. In short time, all of the indigenous foods our people ate were
quickly replaced with the foods that Europeans introduced. Now, in present day, we are affected more than every by the
excessive consumption of unhealthy foods. Where we once gathered food on a
daily basis and interacted with the environment, we have now become dependent
on grocery stores for our daily food. Before the colonization of our territories and the
introduction of new foods, there was little to no accounts of critical diseases
among our people. Jon Steinman: The digital story of Keenan
Jules of the Nashuk Youth Council. On today's
episode of Deconstructing Dinner, we're launching our series titled Exploring
Ethnobiology - a series that was sparked by our new interest here on the show to take a closer look into this relatively
unknown field of research. Ethnobiology is the scientific study of
relationships among peoples, plants, animals and environments - a subject that
Deconstructing Dinner has come to recognize represents an invaluable depth of
knowledge for anyone interested in the subjects of food security and food
sovereignty. As peoples throughout the western world increasingly are seeking
to reconnect with their food, there's a lot to learn from ethnobiologists and
in particular their research subjects - most often indigenous peoples around
the world who are too seeking to
protect and maintain their relationships with their environments and their
food. In May 2010, Deconstructing Dinner travelled to Vancouver Island to
attend two conferences on ethnobiology - one in Victoria and one in Tofino. On today's part 1 of the series, we've been hearing
from indigenous youth who spoke as part of a forum at the International
Congress of Ethnobiology in Tofino where they shared their successful efforts to access
traditional food knowledge from their elders and share it through digital
stories - stories that we've been listening to on today's show. The youth are
part of the Nashuk Youth Council - a project of Uu-a-thluk - and organization of the Nuu-chah-nulth
people. The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council represents
15 First Nations spread out throughout the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island. Taking
us through to the end of the show today, we'll listen to three more digital
stories of Nuu-chah-nulth youth and another from a
youth of the Kwakwaka'wakw group of First Nations
on Northern Vancouver Island and who lives in Victoria. We'll also hear some
remarks made by the President of the International Society of Ethnobiology who,
like many of the delegates at the congress were deeply inspired by the work of
these youth and who were left inspired to return to their countries and
communities and share the work of the Nashuk Youth
Council with their youth at home. But first, another digital story produced by Letitia Rampanen about a 3-day digital
harvest gathering in Tofino where youth and elders
met to discuss the digital storytelling project that we've been showcasing here
on the show today. Letitia Rampanen: My name is Letitia Rampanen. I am a young
First Nations woman from Nuu-chah-nulth territory, Ahousaht and Hesquiaht. I am also
a mother to a one-year old boy named Maddexx, who is
from Hupacasath. The
last few months I have been given the opportunity to assist the youth and elder
digital harvest workshop at the Botanical Gardens in Tofino,
B.C. on February 24th-26th. The workshops started off
with introductions and warm-up games for lunch we were lucky to have the boy's
basketball team from Ucluelet cater almost every kind
of traditional seafood. The
gathering, making and sharing of traditional foods brought us all together and
created a family like environment. It was quite the experience for some of the
youth where it was their first time trying some of the traditional foods. The
facilitators shared stories of our traditional teachings and the Elders shared
their knowledge as well as different kinds of plants and herbs and their
purposes. The
traditional food that we had ate was so fulfilling and energizing; a group of
us went for a walk along Long Beach. Some had so much energy to burn, that they
went for a dip in the ocean. The beach was full of different creatures,
excitement and exploring. None of us wanted to leave, but it was getting dark
and close to dinner. For dinner we shared some more great traditional foods and
enjoyed our time playing games and singing, watching short videos and other
activities. The
next day was the colonization day. Our workshop got into depth about
colonization and how it affected our traditional ways of living. We ate food
such as bacon, eggs, hash browns, hotdogs, chilli, Kool-Aid and more. We were
blessed to have been supplied a lot of traditional foods, so we did not eat all
colonization foods the entire day. By evening, almost everyone was exhausted.
Most of us had noticed the difference between traditional and colonizational foods, the impact it has on our bodies,
energy level and our appetite. The
workshop was a great way to bring youth, the next generation and Elders with
traditional teachings closer. Together we can make a stronger and brighter
future for our culture, our land and most of all our people. Jon Steinman: And that was the digital story
of Letitia Rampanen a young
woman from Nuu-chah-nulth territory. Another story
produced as part of the digital storytelling project was by Leonita
Jimmy titled "Good Feelings." Leonita Jimmy: Hello, my name is Leonita
Jimmy, I am 18 years old. My mom is Else Jimmy from the Carrier Nation in Burns
Lake, my father is Leonard Henry from Pakwichin. I have noticed
that my generation's version of traditional foods has changed from foods such
as sea urchin, Oolichan, halibut, and so on to foods such as Red Robin's,
McDonald's, Wendy's and good home-cooked meals. But food still has the same
effect of bringing people together, whether growing it, shopping for it,
preparing it, or eating it. Food is also used to celebrate at birthdays, anniversaries,
and potlatches. Potlatches are a cultural way of bringing people together, to
celebrate life, to give names, memorials and other cultural things. I am also
learning to traditional dance with the Nuu-chah-nulth group, which
allows me to dance at potlatch parties. Growing up I
have learned how to cook some traditional foods and lots of non-traditional
foods from my mom, grandma and other family members. I have a huge family. I
have always been told to cook with good feelings because whoever eats your cooking
will feel your feelings. I love to bake things such as cookies and cupcakes. My
favourite traditional foods are salmon, moose, elk or deer meat. I believe that
it is very important for youth to become connected with Elders to learn about
the traditional ways of life and foods. I also believe that youth and children
should eat healthier and become more active. Jon Steinman: Good Feelings - a digital story
produced by Leonita Jimmy. And the last
digital story we'll listen in on was produced by James Dakota Smith a Kwakwaka'wakw
youth from Northern Vancouver Island living in Victoria. His video is titled,
"The Way of Our Elders" and reflects the way in which digital storytelling
efforts by youth can be equally applied among those living within urban
centres. James Dakota Smith: My name is
James Dakota Smith and I am a Kwakwaka'wakw youth. This being
said I would like to say that I am thankful and grateful for the Coast Salish
people whose territory I live in and feast in. This is the Victoria Native
Friendship Centre (VNFC) in Victoria B.C. I got involved here in the youth
department doing volunteer work and attending conferences through the youth mentor
here. The mandate of
the VNFC is to encourage and promote the wellbeing and health of urban
aboriginals. The VNFC is a place to gather information about many different
things like traditional foods, which has been a way for our people. We gather it,
than process it, smoking fish and drying berries- these are just some examples.
This is
Carrie; she is the cook at VNFC, which means she is in charge of the food here.
Our community garden was too small and Carrie had a vision for a bigger more
accessible garden for our community. The new community garden has potatoes,
strawberries, raspberries, broccoli, fresh herbs and plenty more. They even
have a little smokehouse by the new community garden. Carrie and the
Friendship Centre provide lunch to the community and dinner at drop-in every
day. We also have vegetarian cuisine for all those non-meat eaters, as well as
water, apples, radishes or even bread that you are welcome to pick up anytime.
The Friendship Centre also has people coming in from the community such as
fishermen that sell traditional foods like crab to the staff and anyone who
happens to be around at the Friendship Centre at the time. The VNFC is a
gathering place and what this gathering place offers us is a place to share
knowledge- what all this information can provide us with is better eating
habits. Fast food versus our traditional eating habits: it's become almost too
casual to go eat a Big Mac at McDonald's. For our
people, food is more than edible energy- it's a medicine. We are genetically
geared towards our traditional diet, so it should be easy to understand how the
drastic change in our eating habits has had a negative effect: causing a rise
in diabetes, heart problems and obesity. We need to
quit polluting our oceans; we need to go back to our old ways, the ways of our
Elders. Jon Steinman: "The Way of Our Elders" - a
digital story produced by James Dakota Smith. Again, all of
these digital stories are available in their visual form by linking to them
from the Deconstructing Dinner website at www.deconstructingdinner.ca and our June 3rd, 2010
broadcast. Many of those
digital stories were shared at the 2010 International Congress of Ethnobiology
held in Tofino British Columbia with many of the
people in attendance coming from all over the world some of whom were also
indigenous peoples and others who research the relationships indigenous peoples
have with their environments. What was clear
following the forum where the Nashuk Youth Council
presented their digital storytelling productions was how inspirational their
work was and is to all of those in attendance. People from South Africa,
Australia, Peru, and other nations all
mentioned that they would be bringing that inspiration back to their communities
and their youth. One of those comments came from the President of the
International Society of Ethnobiology - the host of the Congress. Maui Soloman is of the Moriori people
from Rekohu or Chatham Island east of New Zealand. Maui
now lives in Wellington, New Zealand. Maui Soloman: I just want
to thank the young people for your awesome presentation. My name is Maui Soloman, President of the ISE. I just want to say how
inspirational your presentations were today, and that we've all learned a
tremendous amount from what you've had to share with us- not only in terms of
the knowledge and the courage and the vision that you, young people are
showing, but you've also taught us about how to give presentations. Short and
succinct, heaps of variety, humour, and how to keep everyone awake. So I thank
you for that, as well. As an
indigenous person a Moiriori from Rekohu,
a little island down in the deep of the South Pacific, just east of New
Zealand. My people have been struggling to revive their culture and identity
for the last 25-30 years, because we were considered to be extinct- we've had a
pretty big struggle. We have been sitting here, taking notes on some of the
things we can do with our youth down on our Island. So I thank you on behalf of
the Moiriori people for giving us inspiration and
knowledge and ideas that we can take back to our own community. (applause) Jon Steinman: Maui Solomon - the President of
the International Society of Ethnobiology. Today's
broadcast has been archived on our website at deconstructingdinner.ca and posted
under the June 3rd, 2010 episode and part 1 of our Exploring
Ethnobiology series. You can expect many more recordings from the conferences
we attended so stay posted either to our website, our Facebook page or to your
local radio station airing this weekly show. I should also
acknowledge the support of Norine Messer in helping
facilitate the work of the Nashuk Youth Council. Norine is the capacity building coordinator for Uu-a-thluk.
Also to be acknowledged is the Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities
Indigenous Food Network for supporting this work we heard today and it's on
their YouTube page where all of the digital stories
we heard today are archived in their original visual formats. And to close
out today's show, here's one last short
clip of one of the cutest digital
stories shared as part of the youth forum at the Tofino
congress and it features the youngest participant in the digital storytelling
workshop, Tseeqwatin Rampanen
- the son of John Rampanen who we heard from earlier
on the show. The production is titled, "Deekers in Seitcher Bay" and we have just a few clips from that
production followed by the song of the Nuu-chah-nulth
peoples. Tseeqwatin Rampanen's Digital Story
"Deekers in Seitcher Bay": (Sounds of birds) My name is Deekers. I go to Seitcher Bay. I
have a Papa and a Daddy. I get crabs and I get oysters too. I go home and share
food. song of the Nuu-chah-nulth
Peoples ending theme JS: And that was this week's edition of Deconstructing
Dinner, produced and recorded at Nelson, British Columbia's Kootenay Co-op
Radio. I've been your host, Jon Steinman. I thank my Technical Assistant, John Ryan. The
theme music for Deconstructing Dinner is courtesy of Nelson area resident Adham Shaikh. This radio show is provided free of charge to
campus/community radio stations across the country and relies on the financial
support from you, the listener. Support for the program can be donated through
our website at deconstructingdinner.ca or by dialing
250-352-9600.
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