When the tide is out, the table is set: Changes within our lifetimes – CWB/VIU Speakers Series

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 in” to the topic of shellfish, as a Quw’utsun food from the estuary. Our panelists, including Dr. Shannon Waters and Tim Kulchyski, 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 Quw’utsun management practices in the Cowichan River, the recent Island Indigenous Foods Gathering on Quw’utsun territory, and the fields of preventive, public, and First Nations health.

Join us on Monday, October 20^th from 7-8:30pm in Lecture Hall 140, at VIU Cowichan, to learn more. Attendance, as always, is free!

The Speakers Series has been running since 2014, hosted by the Cowichan Watershed Board, with the support of Vancouver Island University – Cowichan campus. Each evening features engaging speakers sharing their knowledge and expertise on topics relevant to the well-being and sustainability of the Cowichan watershed, within Quw’utsun territory.