Workshops teach participants about fisheries through interactive knowledge sharing and hands-on demonstrations.
Food is a central pillar to the values and history of the Haida people. Deep within Haida ancestral teachings is the notion that all food made with love will be tasty and nutritious for those who receive it.
Beginning in 2021, the Haida Gwaii community of Skidegate began hosting workshops designed to support and encourage more First Nations participants in local Albacore tuna subsistence fishing. Skidegate Chief Councillor William (Billy) Yovanovich and Michelle McDonald (Missy), from the Skidegate Band Council, said the workshops are driven by Haida values of reciprocity, empowering each other and improving community well-being.
The workshops teach basic skills for fishing and processing (cleaning, skinning and filleting), as well as cooking recipes shared by Billy and Missy, such as tuna Poke - an Indigenous Hawaiian dish with cubed raw marinated tuna. Five of these workshops have been held to date, with an average of 60 participants for each one.
“It's been good for the soul to feel like people are gaining some good knowledge and having a really good time learning something new and sharing food with others," shared Billy about the workshops. “(It) has been quite rewarding that way."
Read the full story about Skidegate's community fishing workshops, Supporting Community Empowerment and Food Security with Local Fisheries Workshops, a short publication created by Billy Yovanovich, Michelle McDonald, Marcela Faralhi, Gerald Singh, Tiff-Annie Kenny, Maery Kaplan-Hallam and Kathleen Yung.
The publication was developed as part of the Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security for First Nations project. This multi-year collaborative research project involving several universities, First Nations communities, and the First Nations Health Authority aims to improve our knowledge about the potential impacts of climate change on seafood harvest and food security in coastal First Nations and inform local and regional climate adaptation planning and action. Participating communities include Namgis Nation, Tla'amin Nation, Skidegate Band Council and Nuxalk Nation.
FNHA's ongoing role includes supporting knowledge sharing about community-led initiatives that respond to climate-driven threats to First Nations seafood security.
