Seasons

Traditionally, Stó:lō life revolved around distinct seasonal patterns, and families travelled to various sites in Stó:lō Téméxw to collect plants for food and medicine, to hunt and fish, and to harvest raw materials, such as mountain goat wool for blankets, and cedar basket-making supplies. People knew what, when, and where resources were available, and what activities were to be carried out each month, and understood how things were related to each other. For instance, mountain goat wool was gathered in the late spring, at the same time as cedar bark was pulled. In the month of Temchálhtel (“Time to wind-dry fish”), many people moved to Canyon fish camps located between Yale and Spuzzum to catch and wind-dry salmon.

 

Many Stó:lō continue to follow these practices, even as various pressures make it more difficult to find and access traditional resources. Today, contemporary foodways activities, such as planting, harvesting, preserving and storing harvests from a garden, have been integrated with traditional practices like fishing, hunting, and gathering plants.

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