Rachel & Spencer Greening- Gyetk

About this event

Explore Gyetk, a Ts'msyen guide to food and ancestral knowledge rooted in the lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest Coast! Gyetk: Coastal Fusion and Ancestral Knowledge from a Ts'msyen Kitchen, by Rachel Greening (PhD, Dietitian) and Spencer Greening (PhD, Anthropologist), is a guide to the rich food traditions and knowledge of the Ts'msyen (Tsimshian) people, grounded in millennia of relationship with the lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Gyetk, meaning "to feed the people", blends modern culinary fusion with scholarly research, as this book follows the traditional Ts'msyen seasonal round, weaving together ancestral foodways, ecological knowledge, dietetic perspectives, and thoughtful harvesting practices - inviting readers to feast in relationship with the natural world. Rachel Greening (PhD) is Ts'msyen of La-x Kw'alaams (Port Simpson), where she belongs to the La-xsgyiik (Eagle Clan) of the Gispaxlo’ots tribe, holding the name Sagu ts’imuu xsgyiik. She works in clinical and community dietetics and as a diabetes educator with the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. Additionally, her research focuses on Indigenous food sovereignty, holistic health and well-being, and intergenerational approaches to diabetes care and prevention with Nuu-chah-nulth and Ts'msyen peoples and their traditional food systems. Spencer Greening (PhD) is Ts'msyen from the Gitk-'a'ata tribe (Gitga'at First Nation– Hartley Bay), of the Ganhada (Raven Clan), and holds the name La'goot. Spencer is an anthropologist who regularly conducts cultural research for his community. Currently, he is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Victoria where his work centers on Ts'msyen ecological knowledge, stewardship, harvesting laws, and Indigenous food sovereignty, while dabbling in archaeology. Together, Rachel and Spencer regularly facilitate food-based workshops with First Nations youth and adults along the Pacific Northwest Coast, emphasizing the role of harvesting in individual and collective well-being. With the birth of their first child, remaining connected to their communities and traditional territories has become more important than ever. As a family, they strive to spend as much time as possible immersed in the Ts'msyen seasonal rounds. Feel free to reach out to Village Books and Paper Dreams for further assistance at 360-671-2626!