The Western Sword Fern is an ancient, evergreen plant of the Pacific Northwest coast. For thousands of years, it has woven itself into the daily lives, healing traditions, and playful stories of Indigenous peoples from Alaska down to California.

Coastal groups like the Squamish and Ditidaht used the Sword Fern to play a breath-holding game called "Pala Pala". Children and young men would pull off the small leaflets one by one while holding their breath, saying "Pala" (meaning "one") to train themselves for deep ocean diving.

In times of severe hunger, people roasted or steamed the underground starchy roots (rhizomes) over a fire to eat alongside salmon eggs.
~ Sierra Club BC

RE_2026-07-16_162891