An ongoing CWIS project in which the nutritional and cultural value of the Oolichan (herring fish) is explored. Oolichan oil has, for untold centuries, been one of the most valuable commodities of a vigorous northeastern Pacific coast trade.
Coming soon to our Media Center: The CWIS production of The Oolichan Grease Trail Documentary. Grease Trails tells the little known story of the Oolichan fish and its relation to the Native people of the Northwest. All along the Northwest Coast of America, Native tribes developed their diverse traditions around the harvesting, processing and distribution of this small but important fish. For thousands of years, the Oolichan was central to the culture of Northwest Coastal tribes. Grease Trails brings the audience on a journey into an older world, crowded with spirits and supernatural beings like Txamsen, the giant, Natmuqcin, and the Transformers, Xexa:ls and into the lives of the descendants of the grease trails original travelers.
» Click here to view or download: "Trading across time and space: Culture along the North American "Grease Trails" from a European perspective." by CWIS Traditional Health Policy Fellow Mirjam Hirsh.
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