When Food Is a Right, Not a Ration

When Food Is a Right, Not a Ration

As SNAP benefits face new political threats, millions of families are being pushed deeper into food insecurity—including many of our Native relatives whose communities already navigate the long-term impacts of colonization on food systems. In this special All My Relations + Old Growth Table podcast collaboration, Matika Wilbur and Temryss Lane sit down with Valerie Segrest (Muckleshoot), a leading Indigenous food systems expert and advocate, to unpack what these proposed cuts mean for Native nations and why food sovereignty is central to our collective survival. Together, they explore how federal policy shapes daily access to food, the ongoing fight to restore Indigenous foodways, and what it means to nourish our people when systems fail us. This episode also features on-the-ground field reports from Gray Fox Farm, Suquamish Seafoods, the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), and professional forager Chai Tobar-Dupres (Cowlitz), offering a rich, real-time look at the work happening across our communities to reclaim sustenance, land, and autonomy. This is a conversation about power, policy, kinship, and the future of how we feed one another. Resources/places to donate: www.unkitawa.org [https://www.unkitawa.org/] www.chiefseattleclub.org [https://www.chiefseattleclub.org/] www.feed7generations.org [https://www.feed7generations.org/] Businesses featured in the episode: suquamishseafoods.com [https://suquamishseafoods.com/] www.grayfoxfarmwa.com [https://www.grayfoxfarmwa.com/] nayapdx.org [https://nayapdx.org/] cowlitzforager [https://www.instagram.com/cowlitzforager/] ++++ Credits: Film Production by Francisco “Pancho” Sánchez PA Mandy Yeahpau Edited by Francisco “Pancho” Sánchez Produced by Matika Wilbur Co/hosted by Temryss Lane Social Media by Katharina Mei-Fa Brinschwitz We are so grateful to be in collaboration with the team at All My Relations [http://www.allmyrelationspodcast.com/], and to be produced in their new home, Tidelands [http://www.thisistidelands.com/] in downtown Seattle. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who made this show possible! T’igwicid!

Salmon Stories: Responsibility and Return

In this episode of The Old Growth Table,  you’re invited into relationship with the Salmon Peoples. Their existence holds stories of prophecy, reciprocity, and resilience. Joined by conservation policy analyst and Tulalip Tribal member Cecilia Gobin, Valerie explores the living legacy of salmon and what it means to uphold the agreements our ancestors made with these relatives. We dive into the significance of the First Salmon Ceremony, the fight for habitat restoration, and how colonization has reshaped our traditional food systems. Valerie reminds us that caring for salmon is caring for the future — for the children who will one day sit at the old growth table. We discuss what  it means to honor salmon and practice an honorable harvest by supporting Native fishers and Tribes — whether on the river, at the market, or around the fire at home. Special thanks to the Suquamish Tribe for sharing their Suquamish Salmon Song, and to Cecilia Gobin for sharing her time, energy, and knowledge. Deep gratitude to the Tulalip Tribes for welcoming us to capture such beautiful footage. Let’s take care of the water, the salmon, and one another. Resources: Support the work of Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission at   [https://nwifc.org/]nwifc.org [http://nwifc.org] and the Salmon Defense’s Salmon Warriors Initiative at salmondefense.org/salmonwarriors [https://salmondefense.org/salmonwarriors/] Support us on Patreon [https://patreon.com/OldGrowthTablePodcast]! Our patrons can download exclusive content like our seasonal meditations and recipes and so much more content to come 🌿 Find us at patreon.com/OldGrowthTablePodcast [https://patreon.com/OldGrowthTablePodcast] 📲 Follow us on: Instagram: @oldgrowthtable [https://www.instagram.com/oldgrowthtable/]TikTok: @oldgrowthtable.podcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@oldgrowthtable.podcast]YouTube: youtube.com/@OldGrowthTable [https://www.youtube.com/@OldGrowthTable] We are so grateful to be in collaboration with the team at All My Relations [http://www.allmyrelationspodcast.com/], and to be produced in their new home, Tidelands [http://www.thisistidelands.com/] in downtown Seattle. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who made this show possible! T’igwicid!

The Berry Way of Life

This is the summer season. Breathe deep, take it in. Let the warmth settle into your bones, and imagine reaching out to collect a sun-ripened berry on a hot summer day. This episode is all about berry medicine — why it’s good for us, the stories and reverence wrapped around it, and how these small, vibrant foods have nourished our people for thousands of years. Berries like strawberry, huckleberry, blackberry, and blueberry are among the first foods of this continent, present in our creation stories and honored across Indian Country in the naming of our lunar cycles. We’re excited to share with you səswix̌ab Martha Lamont’s berry picking song, sung by Tulalip youth at the Lushootseed Language Camp, to be joined by special guest Colleen Echohawk (Pawnee and Upper Athabascan), a community organizer and longtime Seattle leader whose work uplifts Native visibility and Indigenous-led solutions to homelessness, food insecurity, and justice, and to be gifted a poem by her sister and dear friend, Abi Echohawk. Together, we reflect on what it means to live the berry way of life — how to bring ancestral food knowledge into urban spaces, grow what we can, respect the land and our relatives through our honorable harvest, and reconnect to the land even in the middle of the city. When we walk into harvesting with intention — making offerings, prayers, and sharing our harvest with our communities — we receive deep nourishment in return. And as the elders remind us: the best time to harvest is the time you have. Resources & How to Support Us: Follow Colleen at @cechohawk [https://www.instagram.com/cechohawk/?hl=en], and make sure to check out her organizations: Eight Generation [https://eighthgeneration.com/] and Chief Seattle Club [https://www.chiefseattleclub.org/]. You can follow Abigail Echo-Hawk at @echohawkd3 [https://www.instagram.com/echohawkd3/?hl=en]. Support us on Patreon [https://patreon.com/OldGrowthTablePodcast]! Our patrons can download exclusive content like our seasonal meditations and recipes and so much more content to come! 🌿 Find us at patreon.com/OldGrowthTablePodcast [https://patreon.com/OldGrowthTablePodcast]  📲 Follow us on: Instagram: @oldgrowthtable [https://www.instagram.com/oldgrowthtable/]TikTok: @oldgrowthtable.podcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@oldgrowthtable.podcast]YouTube: youtube.com/@OldGrowthTable [https://www.youtube.com/@OldGrowthTable] ++++ We are so grateful to be in collaboration with the team at All My Relations [http://www.allmyrelationspodcast.com/], and to be produced in their new home, Tidelands [http://www.thisistidelands.com/] in downtown Seattle. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who made this show possible! T’igwicid!

Sacred Hydration: Infusions, Ancestors & Listening to Water

Let’s talk about  our relationship with water—not just as a tool for hydration, but as a sacred, living relative. In this episode, “Sacred Hydration: Infusions, Ancestors & Listening to Water”, Valerie explores how water draws out memory, medicine, and meaning from the world around us. Joined by special guest Mariah Gladstone (Blackfeet, Cherokee) – founder of Indigikitchen and author of Mountains to Oceans: Kids’ Recipes from Native Land [https://www.indigikitchen.com/product/mountains-to-oceans/], they share stories, wisdom, and even a recipe demonstration that reframes water as kin. This conversation reminds us of water’s teachings and its sacred power to heal. Because water remembers. It listens. And it deserves more than just mindless consumption—it deserves reverence for all the quiet miracles and great healing it carries. Resources & How To Support Us: Follow Mariah Gladstone @mariahgladstone [https://www.instagram.com/mariahgladstone/] and Indigikitchen [https://www.indigikitchen.com/] – an online cooking platform revitalizing Indigenous foods. Order her book, Mountains to Oceans: Kids’ Recipes from Native Land on their website [https://www.indigikitchen.com/product/mountains-to-oceans/].  Support us on Patreon [https://patreon.com/OldGrowthTablePodcast]! Our patrons can download exclusive content like our seasonal meditations and recipes and so much more content to come 🌿  Find us at patreon.com/OldGrowthTablePodcast [https://patreon.com/OldGrowthTablePodcast]  📲 Follow us on: Instagram: @oldgrowthtable [https://www.instagram.com/oldgrowthtable/]TikTok: @oldgrowthtable.podcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@oldgrowthtable.podcast]YouTube: youtube.com/@OldGrowthTable [https://www.youtube.com/@OldGrowthTable] https://www.youtube.com/@OldGrowthTableWe are so grateful to be in collaboration with the team at All My Relations [http://www.allmyrelationspodcast.com], and to be produced in their new home, Tidelands [http://www.thisistidelands.com] in downtown Seattle. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who made this show possible! T’igwicid! We are so grateful to be in collaboration with the team at All My Relations [http://www.allmyrelationspodcast.com/], and to be produced in their new home, Tidelands [http://www.thisistidelands.com/] in downtown Seattle. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who made this show possible! T’igwicid!

Our Food Is Our Medicine

In our debut episode, Our Food Is Our Medicine, Valerie Segrest, a Native nutritionist, food advocate, and member of the Muckleshoot Tribe, invites you to the Old Growth Table — a place to remember, reconnect, and root ourselves in ancestral Indigenous foodways. We begin with learning about our wild spring greens relatives — young stinging nettles and tender dandelion greens — as we explore how these early plants help us awaken from winter and fortify our bodies, minds, and spirits for the seasons ahead. Through stories, teachings, and community voices, Valerie guides us in understanding how food is not just sustenance — it’s medicine, ceremony, and a bridge to our culture and traditions. In the spirit of community, Valerie also welcomes two powerful voices in Indigenous food sovereignty—Mariah Gladstone of Indigikitchen and Sean Sherman, author of The Sioux Chef—who call in to reflect on the concept: Our food is our medicine. 🌿 Welcome to The Old Growth Table. We’re so glad you’re here. Let’s listen, gather, and nourish Please support the work of our amazing guests: * Mariah Gladstone – Founder of Indigikitchen on at www.indigikitchen.com/ [https://www.indigikitchen.com/]  and on Instagram at @indigikitchen [https://www.instagram.com/indigikitchen/] * Sean Sherman – Chef, author of The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, at https://seansherman.com/ [https://seansherman.com/]  and on Instagram at @siouxchef [https://www.instagram.com/siouxchef/] Help us grow The Old Growth Table by subscribing, rating, and sharing: 🔗 oldgrowthtable.com 🎧 Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts 📲 Follow us on Instagram: @oldgrowthtable [https://www.instagram.com/oldgrowthtable/] 💌 Share with your community — and let us know how you’re (re)connecting to ancestral foods We are so thankful to be in collaboration with the team at All My Relations, and to be produced in their new home, Tidelands Studio in downtown Seattle. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who made this show possible! We are so grateful to be in collaboration with the team at All My Relations [http://www.allmyrelationspodcast.com/], and to be produced in their new home, Tidelands [http://www.thisistidelands.com/] in downtown Seattle. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who made this show possible! T’igwicid!