Clams and Family: Jessica’s Story
Portrait of Jessica at Golden Gardens Park by Chloe Collyer.
“Growing up in the Pacific Northwest and having rocky beaches, just constantly being by the water - or in the water, much to my parent’s chagrin - and probably ending up blue-lipped by the time I got out. Every year we go clam digging.
As a little kid, it’s like ‘hey, the tide is going to be low.’ Great! So we’d all pile in the car, pile on the ferry, head out to the beach at my great aunt’s house. The whole family would come, my second cousins, my uncles and aunts and everything, and would just be this whole day of geoducking. My grandfather grew up in Tacoma and him and his brothers and older brother and younger sister would go clamming. And there’s even a picture somewhere deep in the archives of Tacoma newspapers of my grandfather as a little kid holding up this geoduck. And so it’s been one of those family traditions that builds community because it was such a joyful time and I loved it. I always look forward to clam digging, even though I hate clams!
We used to go out clamming on Vashon. They are harder to find now. The ocean salinity or acidity or I don’t really know what affects geoducks. We always grew up being very wary of something called the red tide, and that is why you can’t clam certain types of clams, or in certain areas. One of the reasons that my parents are now able to clam is they’re now willing to drive further. They will drive out to the actual Washington state coast, and spend the six hours of a drive to go clamming.
Not only do we check the tide tables, we have to ask, ‘what is here and what is in the water?’ Because these clams live at the bottom and they just suck everything in and they spit some stuff out, but we want to make sure that what they’re sucking in isn’t toxic.
I hope that when I have kids, I’ll be able to be like, you know, ‘let’s just hop to Vashon Island and let’s go find a geoduck.’ ”
Jessica finds a clam; photo courtesy of the storyteller.
Portrait of Jessica at Golden Gardens Park by Chloe Collyer.
Jessica Juarez-Wagner (she/her) is currently the Development Director of United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, working from the beautiful Daybreak Star Center in Discovery Park.
Jessica was lucky enough to be born and raised the great Pacific Northwest, and enjoys exploring, camping, swimming, hiking, and “basically everything about the PNW.” Some of her favorite family traditions are the seasonal foraging that her family has taught her, such as mushrooming, berry-picking, and clamming. As a child, just like today, she loves to get out in nature and explore its bounty.
Jessica can be found on beaches around the Sound during most -3+ tides, surrounded by family, lots of sand, and an arsenal of shovels. For her it is about the experience with the people around her, and enjoying the beach, that brings her out to clam (a family tradition that used to bring out three generations of clammers). Jessica says: “changes in environments and fishing regulations have changed the landscape of clamming and not for the better. Action is needed today to protect resources for tomorrow.” She hopes clamming will be something that she can share with future generations of the family.
Community Partner Spotlight: United Indians
Founded in 1970, United Indians of All Tribes Foundation provides an extensive array of culturally responsive services and programming to Seattle and King County’s urban Native community. Its headquarters, the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, was completed in 1977, and has become a hub of activity for Native peoples and their supporters locally, nationally, and internationally. Daybreak Star is home to a permanent collection of Native art, as well as the Sacred Circle Gallery featuring rotating exhibits of work by contemporary Native artists.
United Indians promotes the well-being of our region’s Indigenous community through services and programming that support cultural connection, school readiness, economic self-sufficiency, housing stability, and health and well-being. Its services are strengths-based and client-driven, in recognition of their community’s tremendous resilience, and sustain people in every age and stage of life.
