RARE SIGHTINGS
Garry oak system remains along the southeast coast of
Vancouver Island (a region once known as Camosun or
“place to gather camas”).
Although rare, blue camas continues to have a significant role in BC’s aboriginal culture and efforts are
being made to preserve what’s left of the island’s Garry
oak habitat. When the ecosystem was declared endangered in 1999, First Nations and volunteers banded
together to form the Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery
Team (GOERT); they have since been working to restore
and conserve these unique environments and the rare
species that live within them.
Close-up of blue camas flowers
EDNA WINTI
pit oven for 24–36 hours allows ample time for the
release of natural sugars; the result is a sticky, caramelized bulb similar in flavour to a sweet potato.
Camas, derived from the Nootka Indian wood chamas
(“sweet”), was often used as a natural sweetener,
but the bulbs have also been found to contain high
amounts of protein and fibre. Cooked bulbs were
regularly dried and stored for later use, making them
a popular article of trade among aboriginal groups
and settlers in the early 19th century.
Found exclusively within Garry oak ecosystems,
blue camas fields were harvested and maintained by
the Coast Salish, Cree, Nez Perce and other native peoples in Canada and the United States. Characterized
by wet meadows, shallow soils, and shady woodlands,
Garry oak ecosystems were once scattered from southern British Columbia to the northern tip of California, but
have since degraded as a result of urban and agricultural development. Today, only five percent of Canada’s
PETER
SPRING/SUMMER 2016
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