A clam garden (k’yuu kudhlk’aat’iija in the

Haida language Haida (', ', ', ') is the language of the Haida people, spoken in the Haida Gwaii archipelago off the coast of western Canada and on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. An endangered language, Haida currently has 24 native speakers, though revit ...

, lux̌ʷxiwēys in the

Kwakʼwala Kwakʼwala or Kwak̓wala (), previously known as Kwakiutl (), is a Wakashan language spoken by about 450 Kwakwakaʼwakw people around Queen Charlotte Strait in Western Canada. It has shared considerable influence with other languages of the ...

language) is a traditional Indigenous management system used principally by

Coast Salish The Coast Salish peoples are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak on ...

peoples. Clam gardens are a form of

mariculture Mariculture, sometimes called marine farming or marine aquaculture, is a branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other animal products, in seawater. Subsets of it include ( offshore mariculture), fish fa ...

, where

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

peoples created an optimal habitat for clams by modifying the beach. These clam gardens are a food source for both First Nations peoples and animals. They also provide food security as they are a food source that can be readily harvested year-round. Clam gardens are found along the west coast of North America. Over 2,000 clam gardens have been identified on the coast of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Though most clam gardens are currently untended, restoration of sections of previously untended clam gardens are occurring in

Fulford Harbour Fulford Harbour is a residential community on the southeast side of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, located near the island's southern end. Fulford Harbour is the site of a BC Ferries terminal with regular ferry service to Swartz Bay on Va ...

Salt Spring Island Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada, and Vancouver Island. The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled ...

and on Russell Island located in the

Gulf Islands National Park Reserve Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is a National Parks of Canada, national park located on and around the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada. In the National Parks System Plan, this park provides representation of the Strait of Georgia Lo ...

Composition

Boulder wall

Once a location was chosen by an individual or a group of First Nations peoples, clam garden construction began with the creation of a boulder or rock wall along the shoreline of a beach. Strong individuals would roll large boulders down to the lowest tideline on the beach, thus creating a rock wall. The rising tide brings sediment over the rock walls, where it accumulates and creates an extended soft sediment beach area, creating ideal clam habitat. The rock wall is low enough that it allows the clam garden to be submerged at high tide, but tall enough that the beach is exposed for harvesting during low tide. Due to weather and the movement of tides, rock walls require continual maintenance. Historically, clam gardens were regularly tended to by First Nations individuals who moved rocks from inside the clam gardens onto the rock wall. Both archeological evidence and traditional knowledge assert that boulder walls were built up over time and continually maintained. New rocks were regularly added to the top of the boulder wall when First Nations peoples harvested the clam beds.

Sediment

The accumulation of sediment trapped by the boulder wall creates a flatter beach, which is an optimal growing habitat for clams. This sediment has an optimal density for clam growth, free from fine clay and silt particles that are washed away by the high tide. The density of the sediment was also due to the process of aerating the sand while clams were harvested. Many clam gardens also have a high amount of gravel and shell hash, which aid in aerating the sand. This density allows for freer movement of clams, in addition to easier removal of clams from the sediment.

Animals

Clam gardens are an ideal habitat for many animals. The modified beach attracts growth of many clams, notably:

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

, littleneck, cockle and horse clams. Animals such as

barnacles Barnacles are arthropods of the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea. They are related to crabs and lobsters, with similar nauplius larvae. Barnacles are exclusively marine invertebrates; many species live in shallow and tidal water ...

chiton Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora ( ), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized. They are also sometimes known as sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells or suck ...

snails A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

crabs Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the thorax. Their exoskeleton is often thickened and ha ...

eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order (biology), order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 Family (biology), families, 164 genus, genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the earl ...

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, whic ...

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

, urchin, and

sea cucumbers Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea ( ). They are benthic marine animals found on the sea floor worldwide, and the number of known holothuroid species worldwide is about 1,786, with the greatest number being in the Asi ...

also live in clam gardens. Other animals such as ghost shrimp and

worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

are found buried in the loose sediment.

Usage

Food source

Clam gardens were a food source for many Coast Salish peoples, and provided food security to many diverse First Nation communities. This was due to the abundance of clams that could be easily harvested and were readily accessible. Women and children were the primary group tasked with harvesting clams at low tide, though everyone in the community could participate. Once harvested, families could consume the clams immediately or smoke them to be preserved for the winter. Resources of clams, either smoked or harvested from the gardens were important since they served as sustenance when other foods were scarce. Some nations, such as the Kwakwaka’wakw nation, traditionally harvested clams from October to early March so as to avoid the

red tide A harmful algal bloom (HAB), or excessive algae growth, sometimes called a red tide in marine environments, is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms by production of natural algae-produced toxins, water deoxygenation, ...

. Clam gardens were not exclusive to humans but also served as a protein-rich food source for various animals during the spring or summer, such as raccoons, mink, river otters, bears, sea ducks, and geese.

Knowledge transmission

Traditional clam harvesting also allowed for intergenerational knowledge transmission, with Elders passing down knowledge about clam gardens to the next generation. Clam gardens were similar to an outdoor classroom, where

traditional knowledge Traditional knowledge (TK), indigenous knowledge (IK), folk knowledge, and local knowledge generally refers to knowledge systems embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, indigenous, or local communities. Traditional knowledge includes ...

, language and cultural practices could be learned by the community.

Ownership

Each Nation has specific protocols and governance systems around land management, and many access areas are family-based. For clam gardens, families often asserted ownership by regularly tending to the beach and maintaining the rock wall. These clam gardens were stewarded for the next generation. Historically, unmanaged clam gardens could be harvested by anyone in the community. Families could claim ownership by building their own clam garden on an undeveloped beach area in their traditional territory.

Historical age

The exact age of the origin of clam gardening is unknown. In present day, scholars argue that accurately dating clam gardens is difficult due to the rock wall being submerged, in addition to rising sea levels. Archeologists are studying the ages of clam gardens using methods such as

optically stimulated luminescence In physics, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) is a method for measuring doses from ionizing radiation. It is used in at least two applications: * Luminescence dating of ancient materials: mainly geological sediments and sometimes fired pot ...

and

radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...

on the rock wall. Scholars are using both methods to gain a better understanding of the age of clam gardens. The results are different depending on the sample as evidence suggests walls were built up by communities over time. Some dating results suggest that clam gardens range from 1000 to 1700 years old, whereas other samples indicate that they date back to 3000–3500 years ago. Conversely, many First Nations peoples have a different perspective of clam garden creation. For example, Clan Chief Adam Dick, ''Kwaxsistalla'' of the Kwakwaka'wakw nation, states that clam gardens have been around "since the beginning of time". Tom Sewid, a native watchman of the Mamalilikulla-Qwe'Qwa'Sot'Em nation, states that his ancestors have maintained clam gardens over "thousands of years", citing clam gardens as proof of title to his traditional lands.

Restoration

"The Clam Garden Network", a loose affiliation of academics, researchers and First Nations groups, was formed to share current research and traditional First Nations practices related to clam garden management. In 2014, restoration work began to revive two clam gardens in the

in a project between Parks Canada and the Hul'q'umi'num and Saanich nations. The Swinomish Tribe of Washington built a new clam garden on

Kiket Island Kiket Island () is a small tied island in Washington, co-managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Located at Snee Oosh, less than northwest of the town of La Conner in Skagit Co ...

in 2022. It is believed to be the first clam garden built in the United States in over 200 years.

References

{{Reflist Clams Aquaculture Coast Salish Seafood in Native American cuisine Indigenous cuisine in Canada Ethnobiology