Hello VMS members, Our next meeting will be held exclusively online, with no in-person option at VanDusen this time, and will feature a special talk by Jared “Qwustenuxun” Williams. Join Qwustenuxun, from the Quw'utsun Nation on southern Vancouver Island, for an evening of learning about the deep relationships Indigenous peoples have with mushrooms and the cultural protocols that guide how we harvest them. Together we’ll explore how mushrooms have been part of our food, medicine, and teachings, and how these practices remind us to approach the land with respect, reciprocity, and care. This talk invites us to reflect on our own foraging, and how we can walk in better relationship with the fungi and the living world around us. Jared “Qwustenuxun” Williams is a Hul’q’umi’num language speaker, Indigenous chef, Salish culture educator, and consultant from Quw’utsun. Raised in Salish culture by his father and late grandmother, he carries forward teachings of traditional harvesting, Indigenous foods, and community history. After a decade in western kitchens, Qwustenuxun returned home to cook for Cowichan Elders and deepen his knowledge of Indigenous foodways. Today, he shares those teachings widely from Cooking in Two Worlds with FeedBC to a TEDx talk, national food sovereignty projects, […]