Winner of the 2023 Donald L. Fixico Award for most innovative book on American Indian and Canadian First Nations History from the Western History Association

Honorable Mention for the 15th Annual Labriola Center American Indian National Book Award

Foregrounds the importance of Indigenous food in cultural revitalization and healing

In the dense rainforest of the west coast of Vancouver Island, the Somass River (c uuma as) brings sockeye salmon (mi aat) into the Nuu-chah-nulth community of Tseshaht. C uuma as and mi aat are central to the sacred food practices that have been a crucial part of the Indigenous community's efforts to enact food sovereignty, decolonize their diet, and preserve their ancestral knowledge.

In A Drum in One Hand, a Sockeye in the Other, Charlotte Cote shares contemporary Nuu-chah-nulth practices of traditional food revitalization in the context of broader efforts to re-Indigenize contemporary diets on the Northwest Coast. Cote offers evocative stories of her Tseshaht community's and her own work to revitalize relationships to ha um (traditional food) as a way to nurture health and wellness. As Indigenous peoples continue to face food insecurity due to ongoing inequality, environmental degradation, and the Westernization of traditional diets, Cote foregrounds healing and cultural sustenance via everyday enactments of food sovereignty: berry picking, salmon fishing, and building a community garden on reclaimed residential school grounds. This book is for everyone concerned about the major role food plays in physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness.

Foregrounds the importance of Indigenous food in cultural revitalization and healing

About the Author

Charlotte Cote is associate professor in American Indian studies at the University of Washington and author of Spirits of Our Whaling Ancestors: Revitalizing Makah and Nuu-chah-nulth Traditions.

Reviews

"The most recent book by Charlotte Cote (Tseshaht/Nuu-chah-nulth) continues her trend of exceptional scholarship that draws from her academic and personal expertise on the politics of food sovereignty for Indigenous Peoples in the Pacific Northwest."

-- Courtney Lewis * Native American and Indigenous Studies Journal *

"This book is based in, and within, Indigenous knowledges; specifically, Tseshaht philosophy and ontology. To be privy to such information feels like an incredible gift: Cote's stories are generous and insightful."

-- Tabitha Robin, University of British Columbia * Pacific Northwest Quarterly (PNQ) *

"This is an innovative work that tells living histories not just through people, but also through rivers, gardens, berry patches, and more. This dynamic and engaging book pursues an Indigenous-centered methodology that speaks to health and healing, ecology and environment, community and sovereignty, past, present, and future, and beyond."

-- Western History Association Donald L. Fixico award committee


Awards
Winner of Nautilus Book Award 2023 (United States) and Donald L. Fixico Award 2023 (United States). Commended for Labriola Center American Indian National Book Award 2023 (United States).



Book Information
ISBN 9780295749525
Author Charlotte Cote
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint University of Washington Press
Publisher University of Washington Press
Weight(grams) 295g