Oysters were incorporated into the diets of coastal Indigenous Peoples including those of the northwest coast (including Twana of Puget Sound, Coast Salish, Nootka [Nuu-chah-nulth] and Tlingit) and the northeast coast (including Micmac [Mi'kmaq] of Nova Scotia, Penobscot, Iroquois and coastal Algonquian such as Wampanoag) [1-11]. The Attawapiskat (Cree) occasionally ate oysters in small numbers [12]. The Algonquian called oysters e’sis, a common name used for most bivalves [13].

Northwest coast cultures tended to avoid oysters in summer due to risk of shellfish poisoning, but on the east coast, Micmac often collected between May and September [14, 15]. The Micmac are also reported to have staved off hunger with oysters found in abundance during winter and spring when food stores were low [10]. The Wampanoag living at Grey Head consumed oysters gathered from Manemsha pond at their yearly Cranberry Festival [7].

Oysters were collected from the beach with digging sticks and bark baskets [4, 15]. The Nootka of Vancouver Island ate either boiled or steamed oysters [16]. The Iroquois are reported to have boiled oysters for many hours to make them soft, similar to how they prepared mussels [8]. The Wampanoag would occasionally eat oysters raw [7]. The Micmac and Penobscot dried oysters in the sun or over a smoky fire and stored them in boxes for winter [6, 15]. The Micmac used ground oyster shells to polish bows [17].

Eastern oysters were reported to have been an abundant and important shellfish for the Micmac (Mi'kmaq) of Richibucto and Wampanoag. The Wampanoag stored large numbers for winter. Although in the past they were abundant at Manemsha Pond, Grey Head, and Cape Cod, by the 1950s the eastern oysters became rare and difficult to find [7, 17].

Olympia oysters were found on the west coast of Puget Sound and collected regularly by the Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth) of Vancouver Island and Coast Salish [9, 11, 16, 18, 19]. The Manhousat occasionally gathered Olympia oysters from rocks along beaches [20, 21]. The Manhousat usually steamed or boiled the oysters; the resulting broth could be drunk as a tea thought to enhance male potency [20]. The Coast Salish barbecued or steamed Olympia oysters in a pit [9].

References

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14.       Niblack AP: Food; Implements and Weapons; Hunting and Fishing. In: The Coast Indians of Southern Alaska and Northern British Columbia: based on the collections in the US National Museum and on the personal observation of the writer in connection with the survey of Alaska in the seasons of 1885, 1886 and 1887. edn.: [S.l. : s.n., 19--?]; 1899.

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19.       Bouchard R, Kennedy DID: Utilization of fishes, beach foods, and marine mammals by the Tl'uhus Indian People of British Columbia. In.: British Columbia Indian Language Project; 1974.

20.       Ellis DW, Swan L: Teachings of The Tides: Uses of Marine Invertebrates By The Manhousat People, vol. 1st edition. Nanaimo, B.C.: Theytus Books Ltd.; 1981.

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