By Mina Kerr-Lazenby, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter NORTH SHORE NEWS

Crafted from a food source that was abundant, varied and rich in nutrition, the diet that the s蓹lilw蓹ta涩 (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) had prior to the arrival of settlers was worlds away from what it is now.

New research between the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and the University of British Columbia uses archeological records and Indigenous oral histories to piece together what was on the menu between 1000 CE and European contact in approximately 1792 CE.

While the NationB次元官网网址檚 diet spanned all manner of mammals, marine life and fowl, the research found its four main pillars to comprise salmon, forage fish, shellfish, and marine birds.

The bounteous Burrard Inlet had provided ceaseless nourishment, with thriving populations of Pacific salmon, Pacific herring, eulachon, surf smelt, anchovies, flatfish and sturgeon untouched by colonization and industrialization, said the studyB次元官网网址檚 lead author, UBC PhD candidate Meaghan Efford.

B次元官网网址淭he inlet provided so much food for thousands of years, mainly because the Tsleil-Waututh Nation were using specific stewardship and cultivation techniques that ensured their harvest was sustainable over that period of time,B次元官网网址� she said.

Efford said the ancestral diet would have been incredibly high in protein, with each person consuming over 200 grams per day, on average. Today, the recommended allowance for protein is around 0.8g per kilogram of body weight, around 60g for a person weighing 75 kg.

As a result of the consumption of marine fowl like dabbling ducks, large amounts of fat in the diet would have combated the cardiovascular diseases, blood vessel disorders and organ issues that can be brought on by high-protein diets, said Efford.

The study, A Fish-Focused Menu: An Interdisciplinary Reconstruction of Ancestral Tsleil-Waututh Diets, is part of wider PhD research Efford has carried out alongside the Nation to learn more of its pre-colonial existence.

The majority of the findings, including that of the NationB次元官网网址檚 pre-settlement diet, confirms much of what the Tsleil-Waututh Nation has been proclaiming for decades, said Efford.

Michelle George, a cultural and technical specialist at the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, said stories of a Burrard Inlet teeming with life have been passed down from generation to generation, but the picture painted is so different to what remains today, the stories feel more like folk tales than fact.

B次元官网网址淢y family always told me that when the tide was out, the table was set, and there would be more than enough food to feed a family, feed a large community, and have leftovers to feed on the next day,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hat was continuous, every day. All of Burrard Inlet was a clam bed.B次元官网网址�

George said EffordB次元官网网址檚 research provided support and reassurance to the Nation, who have long had their Indigenous oral history ignored in favour of Western science. The scientific B次元官网网址渂ack-upB次元官网网址� should spur a more serious response from local communities and environmental groups, who often need official stats and figures to feel compelled to make a change, she said.

While there is B次元官网网址渟till a lot of work to doB次元官网网址�, George said the efforts to rewild and restore the inlet have gained traction in recent years - and the fruits of those efforts are starting to become apparent.

Last spring, the NationB次元官网网址檚 Treaty, Lands and Resources (TLR) department completed a four-year marine restoration project designed to protect and preserve the inlet. The undertaking included eelgrass and native plant restoration alongside the removal of creosote waste and marine debris.

Healthy habitats encourage the bounce back of marine life populations, which in turn replenishes the Tsleil-Waututh Nation diet and helps educate the community on their own culture, said George.

B次元官网网址淲e have a lot of Elders returning to reserves after a lifetime spent away, theyB次元官网网址檙e coming back and finding their family, and a lot of those people want to be taught about their Tsleil-Waututh diet,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚nformation like this is crucial because then we get to teach them what their family used to eat. Maybe then those people can go on to try seafood for the first time. ItB次元官网网址檚 about bringing this culture, this way of living, back to our people.B次元官网网址�