Native-American Camas Production and Trade in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rocky Mountains

Traditional Native-American subsistence in the Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains followed annual cycles of fishing, hunting, and gathering. Camassia was the most widely used vegetable food. Camas bulbs were so highly regarded that native management strategies evolved to maintain their productivity and to prevent overexploitation. Tactics included control of access to tribally-held camas grounds, regulation of individual allocations of camas bulbs, private ownership of camas prairies, and application of quasi-agricultural practices toward increasing camas production.