- [Joseph] It's common for us to think that the planet would be better off without humans.

- But there's thousands and thousands of years of showing how humans have made the planet better.

- Are you okay?

- Yeah.

(animal chirping) - [Narrator] Along this beach, the Swinomish tribe used to harvest clams, one of their traditional foods.

Then they were forced off this land for more than a century, and losing their land meant losing some of their traditions.

Now, they're back learning how to boost clam populations again, the way their ancestors did.

- Ooh, oh wow!

Good throw!

(laughs) - They're doing this with a practice that dates back thousands of years called clam gardening.

(chattering) - My name is Joseph Williams.

My ancestral name is Squi-Qui.

So this is my grandson, my older grandson, and his name is Joseph also.

Poor kid got named after me.

Get your hands.

Yeah!

(laughs) - [Narrator] The tribe built a rock wall along the edge of the bay.

This reduces the slope, which then creates an optimal terrace for clams to grow.

The clams they're growing are cockles, native little necks and butters.

Just like any other garden, this one also requires year-round tending to remain healthy.

- [Joseph] The practice of digging, you're turning over the soil.

Here, the substrate's really black and stinky, but that's decaying organic matter.

So the goal is to kind of get that turned over and then when the tide comes in, the current will rinse away that decaying matter, and it creates just a healthier environment for our babies to grow in.

(child shouting) (soil rustling) - You know about how old this one would be?

- [Joseph] That one's probably three or four years, I bet.

(workers chattering) This is a practice of working with the water and the land, and you're not trying to create some sort of ownership.

It's just trying to enhance a little bit at a time.

- [Narrator] Adding oyster shells improves habitat conditions as the oceans become more acidic.

The garden also encourages other traditional foods to grow, such as kelp.

- [Joseph] The water retention in the clam garden maintains kind of a stable climate for your clams, protecting your beach from temperature rise and fall.

- My name's Courtney Greiner.

I have been working for Swinomish tribe for 13 years in the fisheries department.

We conducted a three-year site selection process looking at 15 sites along the west side of the reservation.

- [Narrator] With many sites to choose from, the community picked this one for its ideal growing conditions and cultural value.

- [Courtney] The currents, the water flow, all of the biophysical conditions were perfect.

(soil crunching) - [Joseph] I came on board, I think it was in about 2017.

Courtney was writing about clam gardens, and she says, "What do you think about building a clam garden here?"

- [Narrator] As a community liaison, Joe brings tribal members out to the garden and helps teach others what was once forgotten.

Adding larger rocks and pebbles to the garden makes the clams happier by boosting oxygen and water flow.

- Go up.

(child grunting) There we go.

Okay.

- I think I found one for you, Jamie.

- [Narrator] The fisheries department helps by testing the clams to ensure they're safe to eat.

There aren't enough clams to feed all of their tribal members, but the community's goal is to use the site for ceremonies, subsistence harvesting, and to teach the younger generations.

(chattering) - My name is Kim.

I'm from the Swinomish tribe.

I was like 10 or 11 when I started working on the clam gardens.

It kind of feels like I'm growing with the clam garden, seeing the difference from when I was younger.

It's beautiful, honestly.

I love like, coming out here and just looking at the water and the clam garden.

I feel really connected to this place.

(ocean lapping) - [Joseph] Re-establishing that connection with our people to this land is priceless.

This island in particular, you know, we haven't had a real connection with for the last couple of generations.

The nourishment that we receive from our first foods is more than just a physical nourishment.

It's a spiritual nourishment also.

(chattering) Oh, look at it.

That's a little cockle.

Beautiful.

That's good food.

Cockles are good.

Let it grow and get big.

- [Narrator] They can only work on the garden when the tide is at its lowest and the rock wall is exposed, which only lasts a few hours.

- [Courtney] I'm done.

- [Joseph] Come on, grandson.

(Kim laughing) (ocean lapping) (bird squawking) - [Narrator] In the winter, the low tides are late at night.

(engine droning) The wind and rain doesn't stop the community from tending to the garden, it just requires them to bring a little more gear.

- [Courtney] Yeah, I think maybe we can put it on the back of the seats.

- You can put it in the seat.

- Don't dump those.

Those are the cookies.

- [Joseph] The job tonight pretty much is just mixing in oyster shell and turning over the surface of the substrate.

It just helps create a better environment for our baby clams.

Why we're here in this blustery evening is because the tides are right.

(laughs) Do you want all that shell right here?

- [Courtney] The shell?

- [Joseph] Yeah.

- [Courtney] Yeah, but I can help.

- [Joseph] Whew!

(groans) Stuff's packed in there good.

(shells clattering) (wind howling) - [Courtney] I got one!

(rake scraping) It's such an honor and a privilege to be part of this work, to be welcomed by the community, to participate in their cultural practices.

This will work for the sample.

(footsteps crunching) We did just find out that last year we had a high pulse of juvenile butter clams, which was very exciting.

- [Narrator] They know there might not be enough clams for everyone to eat anytime soon, but the growing clam populations bring hope for the future.

The community continues to show up season after season, year after year, with hopes that one day there will be enough clams here to harvest and feed the community.

Joe knows that he might not even see full abundance in his lifetime, but that all the hard work will be worth it in the end for the younger generations.

- [Joseph] When you are restoring the culture, you're starting to restore that responsibility of being the steward of your land, of filling a hole in your spirit that's been gone for a long, long time.

Our people, the Indigenous people of every area, we're given the great responsibility of maintaining the balance.

(wind blowing) We owe it to our planet, we owe it to our species, we owe it to everybody, especially to our grandchildren and his grandchildren who we borrow this earth from.

- Bye!

- See you later.

Thanks for coming.

To take care of it.

(fire crackling)