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celery

  • Látis Nowland, of Mission, Oregon, digs for wild celery, or Latit Latit in the Umatilla language, as Tatum Ganuelas, right, and Beth Looney search the surrounding hills. Nowland said she’s been doing this work since the Sunday after she was born, when her mother, Trinette Minthorn, brought her along in a baby board. The women were among a group of about 15 women and girls who gathered for the sacred tradition that marks the arrival of spring for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
    Arts & Culture
    Northwest tribal women and girls gather wild celery amid challenges
    Anna King
    Around this time each year, women and girls from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation gather wild celery. They say their ancestors come back through the plant, and the ceremonial dig marks the arrival of spring.
  • Why did humans start cultivating celery? It's low-calorie and, one might argue, low flavor. We asked some experts at the intersection of botany and anthropology to share their best guesses.
    News
    Celery: Why?
    Natalie Jacewicz
    Considering humans' millennia-long struggle with famine, it's surprising anyone spent time or resources cultivating low-calorie celery. But the vegetable's original use had nothing to do with food.