— from ocean floor to mountaintop — provided us with many kinds of nutritious foods throughout the seasons. Foods, such as berries and fruits, and migratory fish and waterfowl, were only available seasonally and were both eaten fresh and also harvested and processed in large quantities through drying or smoking for later use. Others foods, such as clams, were available for harvesting and eaten year-round, but could still be smoked and dried for later consumption, and for trade. Some harvesting areas were owned and tended by particular families, while others were available to everyone. All people — from the young to the old, were involved in the harvesting, processing, and eating of the plants, animals, fish, and shellfish of Húy̓at. Our on-going access to and management of these foods is one of our most fundamental rights.

Non-Heiltsuk sometimes have a difficult time understanding just what our traditional foods mean to us. Our teachings about food and other resources included understanding how signs in nature signalled the timing of harvests. They included being taught specifics of how to harvest, how much to harvest, and where to harvest. Being able to gather and tend our foods in the ways we have been taught – in the places where our teachings are based – is fundamental to who we are and how we see ourselves and the world around us.