Food of the Ktunaxa
The food of the First Nations of the Plateau manly consisted of fish and vegetation. Some of the salmon they had to first catch was slow cooked over a fire and stored underground pits lined with birch bark for the winter provisions. The other part of the salmon was boiled in watertight baskets made out of split spruce and cedar tree roots. After cooling the fish, oil form the fish was skimmed off and the oil and fish was kept to make fish pemmican, Fish pemmican was made up of powdered dried salmon and Saskatoon berries.
Camas roots were left to the older females of the tribe, as they knew how to prepare Camas roots. To make the prepared Camas roots, the women would dig a shallow pit and filled the pit with hot stones. Once the stones had heated the ground near the stones, the stones were taken out of the pit and the roots and the leaves of the Camas were left to cook overnight. Camas bulbs prepared like this can last for months after cooling and drying.
Cakes that contained berries had Saskatoon berries, salmon berries, raspberries, and blueberries. These berries were gathered near the homes of the people. Berries were then dried on racks covered with cedar wood and leaves. These were really tasty treats for the winter!
Camas roots were left to the older females of the tribe, as they knew how to prepare Camas roots. To make the prepared Camas roots, the women would dig a shallow pit and filled the pit with hot stones. Once the stones had heated the ground near the stones, the stones were taken out of the pit and the roots and the leaves of the Camas were left to cook overnight. Camas bulbs prepared like this can last for months after cooling and drying.
Cakes that contained berries had Saskatoon berries, salmon berries, raspberries, and blueberries. These berries were gathered near the homes of the people. Berries were then dried on racks covered with cedar wood and leaves. These were really tasty treats for the winter!