When the tide is out, the table is set: Changes within our lifetimes
Mon, October 20th | 7-8:30pm | VIU Cowichan - Lecture Hall 140, 2011 University Way, Duncan | FREE
Since time immemorial the Cowichan-Koksilah estuary has been a vital source of food for the Quw’utsun Mustimuhw (Cowichan People), providing habitat for their traditional foods and non-human relatives, including species like salmon, oysters, and clams. These important relationships are reflected in the Quw’utsun teaching: “when the tide is out, the table is set.” In recognition of this significance, one of the Cowichan Watershed Board’s collaborative whole-of-watershed targets is to be able to safely eat shellfish from Cowichan Bay.
The Cowichan Watershed Board is honoured to kick-off our Fall Speaker Series with a panel discussion “digging" into the topic of shellfish, as a Quw’utsun food from the estuary. Our panelists include, Dr. Shannon Waters and Tim Kulchyski. Shannon is a member of the Stz’uminus First Nation with many family ties to Qwu’utsun. She currently serves as the first ever Deputy Provincial Health Officer for Planetary and Water Health. Tim is a Cowichan Tribes community member and Natural Resource Consultant for Cowichan Tribes in the Lands and Self-Governance Department.
Together, our panelists will explore changing Quw’utsun relationships and access to shellfish within our lifetimes, including cumulating impacts and barriers to accessing shellfish, the key differences between food security and food sovereignty, and how essential it is to ensure ecosystem health to support the longevity of traditional foods into the future. These discussions will draw upon the knowledge and experiences of our panelists, including Quw’utsun memory and cultural knowledge, ecological health and management practices in and around the Quw’utsun Sta’lo’ (Cowichan River), the recent Island Indigenous Foods Gathering that took place on Quw’utsun territory, and the fields of preventive, public, and First Nations health.
Join us next Monday to learn more! Attendance, as always, is free. We hope to see you there!
This Speakers Series is hosted by the Cowichan Watershed Board, with the support of VIU Cowichan.
Photo in header image provided by Kw'umut Lelum.
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