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Camas Worksheet

Native Americans in Oregon harvested camas bulbs in the spring using antler sticks. They would store some of the bulbs by mashing them into cakes and drying them in the sun. Others were cooked in earth ovens, which were holes in the ground lined with hot rocks and layered with plants like salal, Oregon grape, and big leaf maple. The camas bulbs were cooked for 24-36 hours between the hot rocks and plants, converting their inulin into sweeter fructose.

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143 views

Camas Worksheet

Native Americans in Oregon harvested camas bulbs in the spring using antler sticks. They would store some of the bulbs by mashing them into cakes and drying them in the sun. Others were cooked in earth ovens, which were holes in the ground lined with hot rocks and layered with plants like salal, Oregon grape, and big leaf maple. The camas bulbs were cooked for 24-36 hours between the hot rocks and plants, converting their inulin into sweeter fructose.

Uploaded by

api-510366840
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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1

Flower Power 
Background Information:​ Camas is a
seasonal Spring/Summer herb found across the
Pacific Northwest. For centuries, Native Americans
from the Kalapuya, Molalla, and other Oregon tribes
have used this important plant in various ways. Using
what you learned earlier this week, you will map out
how Native people collected and cooked camas. Read
each step below and then choose or write in the best
answer for each section. When you’re finished, put
all your answers together either in the form of a
paragraph or comic!

Step 1:

“The season is ___________ and all the camas are in bloom! The beautiful
fields of blue must mean it is ready to harvest. The part of the plant that I
want is the ________, which is edible and tastes like sweet potato. Which
tool should I use to harvest the camas?” (circle one)

Antler Stick Shovel Antler rake


2

Step 2:

“Now that I have harvested the camas using the _______ _______, I need
to store some of it away for the rest of the year. In which form should they
be stored? (circle one). After they are in _______ form, I’ll put them in the
_____ to dry out before storing them away.”

Normal bulb form ​ ​ Mashed into cakes Chopped up into pieces

Step 3:

“The camas we are not storing away is finally ready to be cooked! But first,
I need to make an oven. Which kind of oven should I build?” (circle one)

​An “earth oven” in the ground A “dome oven”


3

Step 4:

“Now that I know what kind of oven to build we can begin making it! First
we will lay down hot ______ to create a base. On top of the hot _______,
we will put layers of native Oregon plants. Which of these plants might we
use?” (circle all that apply)

Salal Oregon grape Big leaf maple

Nettle Sword fern Poison Oak


4

Step 5:

“After layering the camas between hot ______ and various native plants,
we can seal up the oven with a layer of soil. On top, I’ll place more coals
and burning wood to keep the oven all night. The camas will need to cook
for a full _________ hours before it’s ready to eat. Cooking the camas will
turn the _________ that the bulbs contain into ________ which makes it
more digestible for humans. Cooking it also makes the bulbs much
sweeter!”

Now that you have gone through the process of cooking camas, lets bring it
all together into one cohesive paragraph or comic! The next page is left
blank to write your paragraph or comic. The answer key is at the bottom if
you want to check your answers before writing.
5

Answer Key:

Step one:​ Spring/summer, bulb, antler stick


Step two:​ Antler stick, mashed, sun, mashed into cakes
Step three: ​ An earth oven
Step four:​ Salal, Oregon grape, big leaf maple, sword fern
Step five:​ Rocks/stones, 24-36, inulin, fructose

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