Last Updated on April 10, 2025
After lying dormant for 70 years, a sacred First Food has returned to the Yakama Nation: the Wapato. This small potato began growing after a decades-long restoration project transformed wheat fields back to historical wetland habitat.
While not mentioned in this video, the Wapato is also returning to the north. In 2010, the Katzie First Nation found 4,500 year-old Wapato at an archaeological site in the Fraser Valley slough. Since then, they have been working to get more of the plants and learning to look after them.
Further Reading
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Wapato
Wapato: A Sacred Food Returns to Yakama Nation
Natural Restoration and Cultural Knowledge of the Yakama Nation (pdf)
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