“Though it may not look that way to the untrained eye, our forests are in fact indigenous food forests, with medicine, food and technology. Saopalaz (Lucille Joseph) of the Lil’wat Nation is one of our few elders that still holds our teaching and traditions when it comes to our forest. Discover the knowledge that kept our people, the stewards of this land for countless generations.”

Check out this short video and take a tour with Talaysay Tours. Talaysay Tours, owned by Candace and Larry Campo, Shíshálh (Sechelt) and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) First Nation, offer you an enriched cultural outdoor experience.

Saopalaz “One Who Utilizes” studied under Morgan Wells. 

In the classroom and in the forest and after the program was finished, she would ask for advice about her own health and wellbeing. He would direct her to what she knew already and to go out and find what she needed.

Her learning taught her that its not about knowing every plant – it’s about knowing what your body needs and utilizing it. She learned about her body’s needs and the plants around her.

Knowing the Science and Latin words of the plant was the classroom. Seeking out the plant on the land and how it heals the body is her experience and strength. Saopalaz has clients from all over North America and some overseas. She has helped people who were immobile from arthritis to people with cancer live beyond what doctors said they would. She believes in the medicine the land has for us.

When she walks out onto the land she eats as she walks. She may see a plant she knows about and knows that it is rare to see it. She may eat from it herself but won’t take more than that. She also shares that the plants in your yard may just be the plants you need to heal you. Saopalaz will only share about the plants that she has used herself.

More that 20 years of practicing and living her knowledge have healed her from chronic pain, poor circulation and improved her eyesight.