WEBINAR: Indigenous Wild Foods, Lore, and Stewardship with Jared Qwustenuxun Williams

A seasonal dive into wild foods that are currently flourishing on the land, focussed on relationships between the human and more-than-human world. Choosing a plant that is in season, ie. camas bulbs, Jared will share lore and law about stewardship and cultivation practices — from time immemorial, and contemporary — and zoom out to what settlers can learn from the plant relatives and Indigenous law/stories in order to be good ancestors.

WEBINAR DATE

Wednesday September 17

Time:  12-1 pm 

Cost - $10/$25/50 sliding scale Purchasing a higher value registration allows us to offer low cost access to others.

Cowichan chef and Indigenous foods educator Jared Qwustenuxun Williams.

What you may learn: • when, how, and why to harvest (or not harvest) wild foods

• develop knowledge about the ecosystem and cultural services that are provided by wild food systems

• an understanding of symbiotic relationships and overall relationality as it relates to stewardship responsibilities

• gaining an understanding of how to recognize, and relate, with wild foods as relatives

Topics will include: • history and oral lore of the plants, animals, and marine life of the Salish Sea ecosystem; • Indigenous protocols around relationship with the human and more-than-human world; • customary law and how it applies to land use practices including farming, food cultivation, and wild food systems

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Jared spent much of his youth with his late grandmother, immersed in Salish culture. Raised in a world filled with smoke and fish Jared became familiar with many of the cooking methods and techniques used by his ancestors. Jared graduated from culinary school and has 10 years of western culinary experience. Having spent his youth working with his family learning many traditional harvesting and preparation techniques, which he applies as kitchen manager at the Elder’s Building with Cowichan Tribes. After nearly a decade and a half of cooking for his community's elders Qwustenuxun works as an indigenous foods educator, writer, and consultant. Qwustenuxun won a Canadian Online Publishing Award for best multicultural story. He was nominated for the 2022 BC Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Award. Qwustenuxun has also been a featured guest on APTN’s hit series Moosemeat and Marmalade, cooked indigenous foods on Flavours of the Westcoast television show, and has been featured on CBC radio many times for his efforts in first nation’s food sovereignty.