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Indigenous Food Wellness Hub.

Regional Food Map

Interior Salish, Ktunaxa

The Interior Salish and Ktunaxa region hosts a diverse landscape from dry grasslands and lakes of the Okanagan to the forests, rivers, mountains and alpine tundra of the Kootenays. For thousands of years this region has been home to the following language families and Nations: 

  • Nlaka’pamux (Thompson) 
  • Okanagan (Syilx)
  • Secwepemc (Shuswap) 
  • St’át’imc / St’at’imx 
  • Sinixt (sngaytskstx) 
  • Ktuxana

Some of the main foods from this region include:

Water: Sockeye Salmon, Pink Salmon, Rainbow Trout

Land: Saskatoon Berries, Blueberries, Huckleberries, Oregon Grape, Labrador Tea, Sage, Stinging Nettle, Wild Onion, Deer, Moose, Mountain Sheep, Elk, Marmot

Interior Salish, Ktunaxa Resources

Free, Prior and Informed Consent

Indigenous Peoples have a clear right to determine for themselves whether to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or ‘yes with conditions’, whenever governments or corporations propose actions that could impact their lives, lands, jurisdictions and futures. The exercise of this aspect of the right to self- determination is known as "free, prior and informed consent" or FPIC.

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Secwépemc Seasonal Rounds

The Secwépemc calendar revolves around seasonal resources, and activities are influenced by the local climate.

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Ktunaxa Language Resource: Food and Drink

This resource is a list of Food and Drink items and the corresponding Ktunaxa words.

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Local Foods to School

Local Foods to School is a program that connects K-12 schools and local farms with Indigenous ways of knowing.

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Syilx perspective on original foods: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

This article, based on a keynote plenary at the Place-Based Food Systems Conference in 2018, highlights the deep connection between the Syilx/Okanagan people and their land, emphasizing their sacred responsibility to care for it.

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The Ethnobotany and Descriptive Ecology of Bitterroot, Lewisia rediviva Pursh (Portulacaceae), in the Lower Thompson River Valley, British Columbia: A Salient Root Food of the Nlaka'pamux First Nation

This paper explores the ethnobotanical significance, ecological characteristics, and anthropogenic influences on Lewisia rediviva (bitterroot) among the Nlaka'pamux First Nation in British Columbia, highlighting its role as a food and medicinal resource, traditional management practices, and adaptation to human-induced disturbance.

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Ktunaxa Resources Non-Indigenous Resources

Resources Hub

Intention

The intention of the First Peoples Food Wellness Hub is to honour and raise up Indigenous knowledge around food wellness and holistic health to support the well-being of Indigenous peoples across B.C.