The bulb was a staple of American Indian diets in the Willamette Valley

By KYLE ODEGARD

Corvallis Gazette-Times

LEWISBURG - Kristen Lycett knelt in a field on Saturday morning, digging at the base of a plant with blue-purple flowers, delving past the grass and about six inches into the soil.

After a moment more of working the ground, she pulled out a bulb of camas, a staple of American Indian diets in Oregon before pioneers arrived.

"I think it tastes like a cross between a sweet potato and an onion," said Lycett, 22, the internal coordinator of Oregon State University's Native American Longhouse. "It's different, but I love it."

On Wednesday, camas will be served to attendees at OSU's 11th annual salmon bake, held outside the Memorial Union. The free event starts at 11:30 a.m. and will include storytelling and other performances.

A West Coast salmon shortage has made holding the event more difficult this year.

"We're buying 100 pounds' worth of salmon because we weren't able to get enough donated by the tribes this year," Lycett said. "We usually try to have 250 pounds. This year, we're only going to have 200."

Because it was such a major food source in the Pacific Northwest, mythology and ceremony have been created around salmon.

Even in times of scarcity, it's part of American Indian tradition to share, Lycett said. About 300 to 500 people usually attend the salmon bake.

There isn't any shortage of camas, however.

Just make sure to avoid the white-flowered variety.

"That will kill you," said Matt Ruff, an OSU sophomore and Siletz Tribe member.

American Indians historically tried to weed out "death camas" and make sure the blue-purple variety thrived. And it still does in the Willamette Valley.

"Once you know what the flowers are, you drive and you'll see fields of it," Ruff said. "It usually blooms this time of year."

Kyle Odegard covers Oregon State University. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.