Photo by WaterFirstFoods staff on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, August 04, 2017
Native freshwater mussels are important to ecosystems as filter feeding organisms as seen here in the photo above. The water is moved in through the intake siphon at the right, filtering food items among other material in the water, and then it exits at the left in this mussel. They grow very slow and can be up to 100 years old. Native peoples better known as a band of Shoshones called the Tuka Deka (Big Horn Sheepeaters) who were removed from the area over a century ago. Among Big Horn sheep, the Tuka Deka also ate freshwater mussels, salmon, roots, berries and many other plants and animals along the river. Other tribes in the area shared similar diets and eating freshwater mussels is not uncommon. Today, we still eat them and honor them through the 'research' coming to know we are practicing within our tribal and non-tribal communities across the Snake River Basin.