PHOTO BY MEGHAN ERKKINEN

Lucia Earl-Mitchell removes wet newspaper from clams and oysters. About 50 people turned out for the seafood feast held Aug. 2.

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Tribal members celebrate tradition with clam dig, seafood feast

By Meghan Erkkinen

Just as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago, Puyallup Tribal members gathered Aug. 2 for a seafood feast the day after a large clam dig to savor their spoils. About 70 people turned out for the clam dig on Vashon Island Aug. 1, collecting three five-gallon buckets of clams among them.

About 50 turned out the day after for a feast featuring traditional coastal fare: clams, oysters, salmon, seafood soup, corn on the cob, fry bread, watermelon, salad and potatoes. The dinner was prepared at the Puyallup Tribal Youth Center, where volunteers used fires to cook salmon and hot rocks and wet blankets to steam the clams and oysters. Before the food was cooked, much of it came from Tribal sources. The clams, of course, were dug by Puyallup Tribal members after the area was evaluated by members of the Tribal Shellfish Department. The salmon – all 100 pounds of it – was caught from the Puyallup River and the oysters were harvested by the Squaxin Island Tribe.

“As coastal people, it’s one of our important traditions” to feast after a big clam dig, said Tribal member Lucia Earl-Mitchell, who helped organize the event. “It’s just bringing back a piece of traditions.”

Some of the dinner attendees even tried the seafood for the first time. Volunteers had to restart a fire to prepare more food as the buffet diminished.

“I see everyone coming back (for more) so that’s a good sign,” Lucia Earl-Mitchell said.

The seafood dinner is an annual event that Lucia Earl-Mitchell spent over eight years helping to establish, recognizing the importance of the tradition in maintaining the Puyallup Tribal culture. The event happens only once a year because otherwise shellfish supplies in the region would become diminished.

“This is cool because this has been a long-time dream for me,” she said.

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