The Ozette Prairies of Olympic National Park - Natural Resources ...

with skink cabbage leaves. The Indians laid berries on these leaves and covered them with additional
layers of skunk cabbage leaves sprinkled with water to produce steam. Next morning the berries were
uncovered and pounded with the bottoms of wooden spoons. Then they were put into baskets, generally
of hemlock bark. The Quileute called such baskets po’oq. They covered the berries with leaves of soft
vine maple and stored the baskets in the mud of a shallow creek, which had very cold water. Huckleberries
and blackberries were not cooked like elderberries but were mashed in a basket and made into oblong
cakes about three inches thick. These cakes dried slowly inside the house near the fire. When dried,
they were stored. They lasted indefinitely. Such cakes were precious. Salalberries were mashed fresh
and them put into a watertight basket, which was set in a ditch, which was maintained by a cold spring.
[p. 53] Camas and Roots Preservation. Camas bulbs could be preserved without processing but they had
to be prepared and cooked before eating. The Indians prepared them so as to avoid labor at mealtime.
They were aware that processed camas lasted a long time. They prepared camas for preservation using
the technique employed for elderberries; however, they used leaves of salalberries rather than skunk cabbage.
Camas roots then taste like baked sweet potato. They were preserved by being pressed into loaves
which, when eaten, were cut in slices like pudding. There was another consideration in the preservation
of camas. Camas were dug in prairies in September and October and again from March to April. Although
it was easy to dig camas from March to April, they did not keep well. Camas dug in September
and October could be kept for a long time. Fern roots were treated in much the same manner as camas.
They were rolled and dried across two or more poles in the house. The Indians dried other roots by laying
them on the ground and exposing them to the rays of the sun.
[p. 54] The Organization of Labor. The economic units of production were the nuclear family and the
group of families who lived under the same roof. These families were mostly of brothers, but sometimes
distant relations or family friends lived together. The nuclear family unit and the group of families who
live together carried on the important food collecting, food preservation and consumption activities…
people from a village generally went together to dig camas and other roots. Each household erected
a temporary hut where they stayed until they had secured the items that they wanted. The work was
done on a family basis. Women dug the roots and the men sometimes helped them if the ground were
hard. Women washed the roots and put them in baskets. Men hunted elk and deer on the prairies, and
the women smoked the meat. Men peeled the bark off cedars; women dried it and kept it for spare time
work in winter when dresses and other objects were made from it. Men made rope out of it….Members
of extended families rarely participated in productive activities.
[p. 55] The collection of vegetables, berries and herbs was the work of women. Men accompanied them if
the supply were distant and if there were danger from timber wolves. Women from several families went
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