Cedar Box

To access the full curriculum, visit the Native Plants and Foods Curriculum Portal.

In order to protect the plants and Native American cultural knowledge and stories featured in the curriculum, we ask that anyone using the materials read the Tend Teacher Guide, watch the Honoring Plants, Places and Cultural Traditions video, and take a multiple-choice quiz on the portal. Consider the plant information and stories featured in the curriculum as gifts, and the quiz as an opportunity to reflect on the generosity, intentionality, and purpose with which it is shared—a means of honoring the work.

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Explore the Cedar Box Teaching Toolkit

The Cedar Box Teaching Toolkit is an educational resource featuring thirteen important native foods in Salish Country and the rich cultural traditions that surround them. The toolkit includes a curriculum with descriptions of each food, teaching cards, videos, a poster, and the Feed 7 Generations recipe book. Harvest ethics and reciprocity are foundational to the toolkit, as well as supporting and uplifting tribal food sovereignty. 

Cedar Box Toolkit

The first Cedar Box Teaching Toolkit was developed in 2012 by Northwest Indian College Cooperative Extension Traditional Plants and Foods Program staff as an exhibit for the Folklife Festival in Washington D.C. Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board and First Nations Institute funded projects to further develop the curriculum and replicate the demonstration boxes for tribes and Native organizations in Western Washington.

Project participants from tribes across Western Washington attended all-day foods and plant technologies workshops where they learned to harvest, prepare, and preserve foods and make cedar bentwood boxes, cooking tongs, cattail mats, and other cooking tools. These foods and tools were used to create cedar box toolkits, which were given to tribes and University of Washington’s Burke Museum. Learn more and access the curriculum on the Native Plants and Foods Curriculum Portal.

The Cedar Box Experience

Tahoma Peak Solutions partnered with GRuB's Wild Foods and Medicines program, Feed Seven Generations, and the Swinomish Community Environmental Health Program to create a digital version of the toolkit called the Cedar Box Experience. This interactive and educational website offers an immersive journey into Pacific Northwest plants, foods, cultural ecosystems, and Coast Salish foodways.

Users can play games, watch videos, listen to stories, and explore the sights and sounds of cultural ecosystems as they learn about plants and foods of the Pacific Northwest region. The three educational resources featured on the website were developed with an emphasis on serving Native communities and include Indigenous knowledge, stories, and traditions. 

Visit the Cedar Box Experience Website

Play games, watch videos, listen to stories, and explore the sights and sounds of cultural ecosystems as you learn about plants and foods of the Pacific Northwest region.

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Tend Gather & Grow

Plant Teachings

Cedar Box

Native Infusion

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We ask that anyone using our educational materials read the teachers guide and complete our online quiz. This step also unlocks an additional layer of materials and resources.

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