The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe harvests huckleberries when they're ready in the summer season. The berries currently grow happily in the subalpine zones of Snoqualmie Pass.
In 2019, the Tribe sustainably harvested huckleberries up the Snoqualmie Pass in preparation to host the Tribe's 20th Anniversary of Federal Re-recognition. In addition to this staff harvest, Tribal Members also donated their personal harvests to the Anniversary's dinner menu that were to be cooked by the Snoqualmie Casino staff.
The Tribe invited Tribal Members to participate in the harvesting. Snoqualmie Tribal Members, Administration staff and interns, and Family came together to harvest 17 pounds of huckleberries in one day!
Why huckleberries?
Nutrition
Huckleberries are high in Vitamins A, B, and C, which help to strengthen our immune systems and metabolisms that work to regulate our bodies.
Huckleberries are also a good source of antioxidants and the minerals potassium and iron! These benefits make the huckleberry an excellent trail snack.
Culture
People around the world have unique relationships with the food systems that surround their homelands. Huckleberries are a celebrated and dependable food for the Snoqualmie Tribe. The connection and deep history Snoqualmie Tribal Members and other Tribes have to this berry creates a relationship that is reciprocal.
Just as we need the nutritious and desirable flavor of the huckleberries, the berries also need us to maintain their habitats and ensure that it can be celebrated for future generations, just as they have before.
The Huckleberries' Home Changes
The homelands that the Snoqualmie Peoples and the huckleberries have shared together have changed dramatically as human development and pollution continue to push the limits of environmental stress.
These stressors can have insidious effects on the huckleberry population in its homelands across the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and Alaska.
Huckleberries need a voice on the horizon of environmental justice.
While huckleberry habitats have some protections, their needs are not seen as immediate because huckleberries often live in places where people don't.
The subalpine zone where huckleberries live is an indicator for how climate change is impacting our world. As these subalpine zones warm up, huckleberry populations could be pushed into higher altitudes to stay cool. The presence of huckleberries must be watched over and their homelands must be remembered as essential to our collective survival.
Huckleberry as Opportunity
Huckleberries represent an opportunity to learn from and interact with the Pacific Northwest ecosystem. The more we choose to seek out and build these relationships with nature, the more we remember how important it is to maintain these spaces for generations.
The culture and history that the huckleberry has gifted the Snoqualmie Peoples for generations cannot be forgotten. We are humbled by the power of this small fruit and will always carry the memories we share together because of it.