From beaver tails to seal ribs, new Ts’msyen cookbook spotlights coastal delicacies

From beaver tails to seal ribs, new Ts’msyen cookbook spotlights coastal delicacies Rachel and Spencer Greening hope to preserve knowledge and empower Indigenous palates with ‘Gyetk: Coastal Fusion and Ancestral Knowledge from a Ts’msyen Kitchen’ BY NORA O’MALLEY, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER ● ARTS, FEATURES ● SEPTEMBER 9, 2026 Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit Share on WhatsApp Email this Page Rachel and Spencer Greening, with their child Maaya’ol, harvest seafood on the Pacific Northwest Coast. Troy Moth photo This story was originally printed in Ha-Shilth-Sa and appears here with permission and minor style edits. Two Ts’msyen First Nations harvesters are putting traditional foods back on the table with a new Indigenous cookbook.  PhD graduates Rachel and Spencer Greening devoted years of their lives to creating Gyetk: Coastal Fusion and Ancestral Knowledge from a Ts’msyen Kitchen (Gyetk is pronounced gy-e-tk and means “to feed the people”). It’s set to release on Sept. 22. From maple-caramelized beaver tail over baked beans to roasted seal ribs with wild berry barbecue sauce, clam fritters and baked salmon heads, the Greenings’ cookbook features 60 seasonal recipes born from the Ts’msyen people of the Pacific Northwest Coast.    “Up north, it’s a lot more common to trap beaver,” said Spencer.   “Non-Indigenous and Indigenous folks who still do harvesting in that way will have beaver in their freezer. “Some of these cuts of meats can be quite overlooked, even though they are nutritional powerhouses, and that’s why we highlighted specifically the beaver tail. Also, it’s really kind of comparable to pork belly.” Rachel added: “I personally love baked fish heads. It’s a simple recipe.” Old flavours in a modern world Spencer, a storyteller, is an anthropologist whose research centers on Ts’msyen ecological knowledge, stewardship, and governance, while dabbling in archaeology.  Rachel, a dietician, works in clinical and community dietetics and as a diabetes educator with Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations. They regularly facilitate food-based workshops with First Nations Youth along the coast, emphasizing the role of harvesting in individual and collective well-being. “We just hope people can see the intention behind the book,” said Spencer. “How do we re-empower these Indigenous palates? Palates have been colonized. So how do we massage these old flavours into a modern world?” Rachel said it’s also…