Nisga'a women's healthy foods in the Alpine permafrost and subalpine wetland

Northern Indigenous peoples worry that nutritious foods are becoming less available in their communities during these times of accelerated climate, landscape, and social change.  In the past, Nisga'a women harvested foods and medicines in the mountains of their Nass River Valley homelands, on the northernmost coast of Britich Columbia, Canada. Working with Elders and young women, we collected and photographed berries, greens and medicinal plants from two traditional food-production sites: Lax Bilak, a subalpine wetland, and Angeekskw, a glacial permafrost area that served as a refuge during the great flood, and where we found the greatest diversity of berries and other foods. Elders offered each plant's Nisga'a name, how it was harvested and prepared, and stories and shelters associated with women's food collection. They expressed worry about the rapidly melting glaciers and the loss of knowledge about and access to traditional foods which were an important part of remaining healthy.