Children's book highlights cultural importance of Nisga'a's harvest celebrations in Vancouver this weekend - Action News
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British Columbia

Children's book highlights cultural importance of Nisga'a's harvest celebrations in Vancouver this weekend

Members of the Nisga'a Nation are marking a new season of harvest with two days of events at Vancouver's PNE forum this weekend, part of their Hoobiyee new year celebration. A Nisga'a author and illustrator explain what the tradition is all about.

Hoobiyee harvest season begins when the oolichan a staple inthe traditional Nisga'a diet arrive in B.C.

People in Indigenous clothing stand under an erected totem pole that stands in front of a building.
The Nisga'a Nation kicked off 2023 Hoobiyee celebrations with a totem pole raising at the Nisga'a Museum in Laxgalts'ap, B.C on Feb. 24. (Nisga'a Museum/Facebook)

The Nisga'a Nation kicked off its Hoobiyee new year festivities on Friday, Feb. 24, andthe celebration continues in Vancouver this weekend with two days of free events at the PNE forum.

Hoobiyee marks a new season of harvest, beginning when the oolichan a staple fish inthe traditional Nisga'a diet arrivein B.C.

Samantha Beynon, who wrotea children's book calledOolichan Moonin 2022, told CBC she was introduced to the fish at an early age and inspired to create a work for kids that helps pass down her family traditions.

"I grew up eating oolichan. It was just crucial food that our family ate," said Beynon, whowas born and raised in Prince Rupert and is of Nisga'a, Tsimshian and European descent.

Illustrator Lucy Trimble, who hails from the Gingolx, B.C., in the Nass Valley, and whose traditional Nisga'a name isHlgu Maksguum Ganaaw,remembers her first encounter with the oolichan often referred to as a candlefishbecause of its oily texture.

"Oh, definitely the grease ... one of my earliest memories," she said, adding thatoolichanis good for more than just food.

"I used to have chronic earaches. And what my mom would do is pour heated oolichan grease in my ears, and that would stop them instantly," she said.

A page in the Oolichan Moon children's book shows two young First Nations girls dreaming about the oolichan fish in colourful, Nisga'a inspired artwork.
Oolichan Moon, a children's book written by Samantha Beynon and illustrated by Lucy Trimble, teaches the importance of oolichan to the Nisga'a people and helps pass down traditional knowledge and practices connected to the Hoobiyee new year celebrations. (Josh Grant/CBC)

'Saviour fish'

The author and illustrator say the book they worked on together was designed to pass down culture and knowledge through generations, and Hoobiyee is the perfect time of year to teach First Nations children about the importance of the oolichan.

Trimble describes oolichan as a small, smelt fish known as the saviour fish among the Nisg'aa. It's the first fish to return to the river after the cold, lean winter months"when everyone is really hungry."

She says she incorporated bright, contemporary colours in her designs, which were painted in watercolour before being digitized, drawing inspiration from Nisga'a style as well as visits to the river in the Nass Valley.

The oolichan start to return in February, and the Nisga'a believe they can tell how plentiful the fish will be each year based on the Hoobiyeemoon that comes out in February.

"The best position is when it's like a spoon that's going to catch everything coming into it," said Trimble. "And if it's where it's not going to catch very much, or it's upside down, then you know to really ration what you have."

She adds that as a First Nations wellness worker, she leans on art to help young people and families centre themselves and show how art connects them to their land, culture and identity.

A children's book titled Oolichan Moon shows a yellow moon, a Nisga'a inspired drawing of an oolichan fish and two young girls walking and holding hands.
Samantha Beynon, author of Oolichan Moon, hopes her book helps young First Nations children feel a sense of pride and connection to their traditional practices and cultural identity. (Josh Grant/CBC)

Beynon says writing the book involved a lot of collaboration with Trimble,family members and elders ofthe Nisga'aNation.

"That was something that was really important to me while writing," she said. "I really wanted to respect the knowledge that was passed on to me."

Beynon says, traditionally, the Nisga'a would boil the fish and skim the oil that rose to the top into watertight wooden containers known as bentwood boxes. Thepractice continues today, but the oil is stored in glass jars instead.

She says she had the chance to visit the grease camps in the Nisga'a Valley and make oolichan grease with one of her mother's friends when she was younger.

The author is especially grateful that Harbour Publishing helped include Nisga'awords and a language guide in the back of her book, another way tohelp preservecultural knowledge.

She said, ultimately, she wants Nisga'a children to celebrate their culture.

"To be proud of our traditional food, to bring them to school and share them that's what I really want."

The Nisga'aTs'amiks Vancouver Society Hoobiyee events started at10 a.m. PT on Friday and runs through Saturday at the PNE Forum.

The two-day celebrationwill feature a cultural feast, performances by First Nations dance groups from across the province, Indigenous artisans and a 50/50 draw.

A group of people in Indigenous clothing are holding drums in front of a building and behind a laid-down totem pole.
Laxgalts'ap Village of Nisga'a Nation kicked off the Hoobiyee festivities on the morning of Friday Feb. 24with the raising of a totem pole. (Melissa Mckay)