Harvest Cycles and Food Security

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Harvest Cycles and Food Security

INITIATION DRAFT — Ayaawx teaching page explaining how harvest cycles form the foundation of Tsm̱syen food security, sovereignty, and wilp responsibility over territory.

Overview

Tsm̱syen food systems were designed over thousands of years to ensure:

  • abundance,
  • resilience,
  • storage,
  • trade,
  • and long-term survival.

Harvest cycles reflect the rhythm of the land. Food security is not a modern concept — it is **Ayaawx in action**.

Each wilp maintained food security through:

  • deep territorial knowledge,
  • seasonal movement,
  • coordinated harvesting,
  • correct processing,
  • fair distribution,
  • and protection of the resources for the next generation.

Food security is sovereignty made visible.

Wilp Authority Over Harvesting

A wilp is not just a family — it is a living government holding rights to:

  • rivers,
  • berry patches,
  • mountain trails,
  • ocean harvesting grounds,
  • campsites,
  • eelgrass beds,
  • clam gardens,
  • and creek mouths.

These rights come with duties:

  • prevent overharvesting,
  • honour spawning cycles,
  • protect medicines and berries,
  • maintain smokehouses and drying racks,
  • teach youth how to harvest respectfully.

Industrial or individual exploitation violates Ayaawx.

The Seasonal Cycle (Annual Harvest Calendar)

Traditional Tsm̱syen life moved with precision through the seasons:

Early Spring (Li’ts’um)

  • seaweed s’g̱a’n harvesting,
  • herring eggs,
  • early roots and medicines,
  • smokehouse repair.

Spring to Early Summer

  • oolichan season (ha’liʼma’g̱a)—the foundation of trade and grease production,
  • oolichan grease processing,
  • halibut fishing,
  • clam digging.

Oolichan is a **sovereignty food** — it tied Nations together across trade routes.

Summer (Peak Abundance)

  • salmon runs (four or five species depending on river),
  • sockeye preservation,
  • berries (blueberry, huckleberry, salmonberry),
  • seaweed drying,
  • shellfish harvesting,
  • chinook and coho drying.

Summer is the height of **food security work**.

Late Summer to Fall

  • coho and dog salmon harvesting,
  • fish rack drying,
  • smokehouse work,
  • bear harvest (historically),
  • medicines.

Fall (Preparation for Hard Times)

  • root harvesting,
  • cedar bark gathering,
  • late berries,
  • setting food aside for winter feasts.

Winter

  • drawing from preserved foods,
  • teaching youth,
  • ceremonies (li’ligit / luulgyit),
  • governance work,
  • preparing equipment for the next cycle.

Winter is political season — when people strengthen laws, resolve disputes, and plan ahead.

Food Security as Ayaawx

Food security is not only about having enough. It includes:

  • lawful access to territory,
  • knowledge of safe harvesting places,
  • rights encoded in crests and names,
  • proper storage techniques,
  • inter-House cooperation and support.

Under Ayaawx:

  • taking more than needed is shameful,
  • destroying habitat is a breach,
  • failing to teach youth is a governance failure.

Food security is based on **responsibility**, not entitlement.

Distribution and Sharing

Harvest cycles supported:

  • feasts,
  • marriages,
  • funerals,
  • witnesses in ceremony,
  • guests from neighbouring territories.

Sharing food was not charity — it was **law**.

A wilp gained honour (łoomsk) by feeding people well and often.

Environmental Crisis and Colonial Impact

Colonization damaged food security by:

  • disrupting seasonal movement (reserves),
  • banning feasts,
  • damaging salmon runs,
  • industrial logging,
  • herbicide spraying,
  • railway and highway pollution,
  • forced schooling removing youth from seasonal work.

Industry does not run on harvest time — but Tsm̱syen law does.

Food Sovereignty Today

Reclaiming food security means:

  • teaching youth harvest knowledge,
  • restoring smokehouses,
  • protecting oolichan and salmon,
  • stopping industrial harm,
  • safeguarding clam beds and eelgrass,
  • returning to seasonal camps,
  • documenting place names and harvesting areas.

Food sovereignty = the wilp reasserting its right to feed itself.

Harvesting Law and Consent

Industry cannot:

  • block fish migrations,
  • poison berry patches,
  • cut off access to clam beaches,
  • alter spawning rivers,
  • or destroy medicine sites.

Without **wilp consent**, any such action is a breach of ayaawx and international law (FPIC).

Summary

Harvest cycles were:

  • our school,
  • our economy,
  • our political system,
  • our transportation network,
  • our survival plan,
  • our governance calendar.

Food security is not new — it is ancient, structured, lawful, and sovereign.

Protecting harvest cycles protects the people.

Notes

INITIATION DRAFT — To be expanded with specific watershed cycles, berry grounds, river systems, and House-level harvesting examples.

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