Harvest

By Lorraine Basch, Puyallup Tribal Member On Feb. 6, the Puyallup Tribe’s Culture Department led the first gathering event of the year. It was the first of two events to gather cottonwood buds. The next cottonwood bud event is scheduled for Feb. 20. The department will continue the series in March as they gather nettle. Cottonwood buds, according to the guest speaker and Tribal Member, Kalicia Bean, “is good for healing skin, it’s really moisturizing, and also good for pain.” The cottonwood, which is native to our homelands, is an essential part of the ecosystem. It not only provides shade…