Clam garden

[9][10] Once a location was chosen by an individual or a group of First Nations peoples, clam garden construction began with the creation of a boulder or rock wall along the shoreline of a beach.

[4]: 207 [11]: 8 The accumulation of sediment trapped by the boulder wall creates a flatter beach, which is an optimal growing habitat for clams.

[6]: 2  This sediment has an optimal density for clam growth, free from fine clay and silt particles that are washed away by the high tide.

[4]: 204 [6]: 3  Animals such as barnacles, chiton, snails, crabs, eels, mussels, octopus, urchin, and sea cucumbers also live in clam gardens.

[4]: 202 : 205  Women and children were the primary group tasked with harvesting clams at low tide, though everyone in the community could participate.

[4]: 204 [15]: 11 Clam gardens were not exclusive to humans but also served as a protein-rich food source for various animals during the spring or summer,[3] such as raccoons, mink, river otters, bears, sea ducks, and geese.

[5]: 308  Clam gardens were similar to an outdoor classroom, where traditional knowledge, language and cultural practices could be learned by the community.

In present day, scholars argue that accurately dating clam gardens is difficult due to the rock wall being submerged, in addition to rising sea levels.

[10] Archeologists are studying the ages of clam gardens using methods such as optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon dating on the rock wall.

For example, Clan Chief Adam Dick, Kwaxsistalla of the Kwakwaka'wakw nation, states that clam gardens have been around "since the beginning of time".