HAT's 13 W̱SÁNEĆ ȽḴÁLJ

HAT’s 13 W̱SÁNEĆ Moons - A Seasonal Stewardship Sharing Series

Introduction written by Dominique James, HAT W̱SÁNEĆ Steward and SENĆOŦEN Language Specialist

ÍY SȻÁĆEL HÁLE

NIȽ TIÁ NE SĆÁ ȻENTOL NE SĆÁLEĆE I W̱UĆIST I XEĆT TŦE ÍY SHIWEḰ ŚX̱ENÁNS E TIÁ W̱SÁNEĆ XAXE TEṈEW̱. NIȽ SU I TOTELṈEW̱ ȽTE TŦE ÍY ŚX̱ENÁNS I SNÁs EṮ TŦE SJESEṈENEȻ ȻS I EṈOTES TŦE W̱ELW̱ENITEM ȻS I QENETES TŦE ȽḴÁLJ I TŦE SȻÁĆEL SU TOLṈEW̱ ȽTE ȻE NIȽS U ȻȽ HIŦ XEĆTIS TŦE WILṈEW̱ TŦE ÁȽE EN SYEŦOŦEN E TŦE W̱ENITEM. NIȽ SE ȻEĆÁ TIÁ SĆÁ HUĆIST TŦEN ṈENṈENE E TŦE ĆELÁṈEN ȽTE. ENÁN U JIJEȽ SEN ET NEȻILIYE ENÁ SE ȻS TÁĆELS E TIÁ ÁNEȻ TŦE ÍY LELÁṈEN I ÍY SNEPENEḰS E TIÁ ĆÁĆI ŚX̱ENÁNS.

Good day everyone,

This blog series is the work we are putting together to share with others teachings from this sacred W̱SÁNEĆ land. Together, we will be learning and sharing the good ways of connecting to the land through these teachings. This series looks at the W̱SÁNEĆ 13 Moons cycle. We will learn together what our good friends and relatives have shared with us.

This is what I will be teaching my children and our birthrights together in the years to come. I am really grateful for everyone openly listening and learning about these important teachings and doing this work in a good way.

- Dominique

NEW MOON: PENÁW̱EṈ - Moon of the Camas Harvest

May 26, 2025

By Dominique James and Paige Erickson-McGee

Saanich families have XÁXE TEṈEW̱ traditional territory (land and water), which are visited at various times of the year. This was a cherished time for the people of W̱SÁNEĆ – it marked the time when they could begin travelling through their territory again. Most families left their Winter villages for Spring camps. During the PENÁW̱EṈ moon, the W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples travelled to family locations to OLEXET (harvest) ḰȽOEL bulbs (camas bulbs), which were the source of starch in their diet. Other bulbs such as ȾÁLIḰ (Chocolate lily) were much more abundant and would also be harvested as root crops. Visits to the ḰȽOEL plots serve two purposes: (1) to gather the fresh gull ȾEȾXOLES (eggs) found in the camas fields. (2) and to harvest the blue camas bulb. In this season, both X̱IWE (purple sea urchins) and SQIȾI (green sea urchins) were collected and eaten as well.

TES EṮ PENÁW̱EṈ ȻȽ NIȽs YÁ¸s TŦEN QEȽ WILṈEW̱ TOL OX̱ E TŦE ṮEṮÁĆES. OLEXETES TŦE ḰȽOEL U SXÁĆEȽ TŦE ȻEĆÁ E TŦE ḰȽOEL LÁ¸E ÁŦȻEȽ. EWES U MEQ SÁN Ć¸ȻÁ EXIN E TŦE ÁLEṈENEȻ SW̱ LÁ¸ES ȻS ISTs TŦE QEȽ W̱ILṈEW̱ ȽTE. ṮAḴT TŦE SȻÁĆEL TW̱E EWES ENÁN SȽEMEW̱ TW̱E ÍY¸ QÁLES. NI E TŦEN W̱ILṈEW̱ TŦE Ć¸ȻÁ¸ E SWÁLET: 1) TŦE ȾEȾXOLES TŦE ḰENI. 2) TŦE SW̱ LÁ¸ES ȻS JISEṈs TŦE ḰȽOEL U YOŦ OL U ELEXOTEṈ TŦE XIW̱E I TŦE SQIȾI.

**ḰȽOEL** - Great Camas - listen

The plant is well-adapted to the seasonal rain patterns on the east coast of this island and the Salish Sea islands, and goes into dormancy during the dry summer conditions. ḰȽOEL plays an important ecological role by providing abundant nectar for pollinators. ḰȽOEL requires 2-5 years to mature before producing beautiful, visible blooms when grown from seed, but this varies depending on growing conditions.
**Ideal light conditions:** Full sun to part sun
**Blooms:** April-June
**Habitat:** Deep soil meadow to rocky outcrop
**Moisture:** dry to moist, but well-drained
**Sowing time:** Sow in fall for spring germination
Below is shared by **W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council**:
ḰȽOEL (Great Camas) is a striking perennial wildflower with deep purplish-blue and occasionally lavender or white blooms. Its large, edible bulbs are traditionally pit-cooked in earth ovens for many hours, transforming into a sweet and nutritious delicacy.

For millennia, ḰȽOEL food systems and harvesting sites across W̱SÁNEĆ were carefully stewarded and maintained, ensuring their abundance for future generations. Due to the impacts of colonization, less than 5% of ḰȽOEL meadow ecosystems remain today.
——
*Learn how to pronounce* ***ḰȽO¸EL*** *link to video by PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱*
This piece was shared with permission by **Sarah Jim**. Sarah is a visual artist from the small village of W̱SÍ¸ḴEM (Tseycum) in W̱SÁNEĆ, along with Mexican, Russian-Jewish, and English ancestry. Sarah is currently enrolled in W̱SÁNEĆ College in the full-time Indigenous Language Revitalization Program: W̱¸SENĆOŦENIST.

W̱EW̱ELEŚ - Swainson's Thrush

W̱EW̱ELEŚ is the Swainson's Thrush, a bird known for its beautiful, flute-like song and arrival in this ecoregion around the time ELILE (salmonberries) ripen in May and June. ELILE (Salmonberry) can vary in colour, even on the same bush. They can be yellowish orange, ruby red, or reddish purple.
Listen to the Swainson’s Thrush song ( video link )

Below, you can watch a video of students from LE,NOṈET SCUL¸ÁUTW̱ the SENĆOŦEN Immersion Language School sing a version of a song about W̱EW̱ELEŚ, the little Swainson’s thrush bird ripening the salmonberries in late spring.

Reflections for relating to PENÁW̱EṈ

Since this is a time of travel, what would you take with you on a camping trip?
What cultures and animals still migrate seasonally?
Compare and contrast modern human migration due to job opportunity, family ties, climate change, moving toward or away from cities/population centres, or even for health problems (access to medical care, better air quality, or other reasons).

These three pieces above were shared with permission by Sarah Jim. Sarah is a visual artist from the small village of W̱SÍ¸ḴEM (Tseycum) in W̱SÁNEĆ, along with Mexican, Russian-Jewish, and English ancestry. Sarah is currently enrolled in W̱SÁNEĆ College in the full-time Indigenous Language Revitalization Program: W̱¸SENĆOŦENIST.

Practice Your SENĆOŦEN! Words to practice for this moon are: