Ethnobiology for Communities

Session Date and Time: 
Friday, 14 May, 2021 - 13:00 to 14:15
Primary Organizer: 
Daniela Shebitz
Organization/Affiliation: 
Kean University
Email address: 
Time
(UTC-7)
Abstract
13:00
Presentation format: 
Oral (live)
Author(s):
Herron
, Scott - Ferris State University; Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum
Michener
, David - University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum
Cornelius
, Dan - Intertribal Agriculture Council
Young
, Lisa - University of Michigan
Martin
, Shannon - Executive Director, Cultural Pathways Group LLC

This project convened over 4 years an interdisciplinary, problem-solving team of University of Michigan, Anishinaabe (Tribal), and plant specialists to identify issues and develop protocols for sharing of heritage seeds and associated archival information currently curated in University collections. Goals were to determine how collections can be innovatively used in partnership with the Anishinaabe, and how to assess the viability and vigor of archived seeds.  The group addressed questions of how universities and Anishinaabe can collaborate  on sustainable lifeway initiatives in indigenous communities. For three years project partners donated seeds of culturally critical maize varieties (yellow flour corn, Red Lake flint corn, and Fox blue corn) along with varieties of squash (Gete okosmin and  Potawatomi watermelon), and select bean and tobacco species. The successes of 3 years of growing at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens has strengthened tribal-university relationships to a historic level in Michigan.

13:12
Presentation format: 
Oral (live)
Author(s):
Ignace
, Marianne - Simon Fraser University
Ignace
, Ronald - Skeetchestn Indian Band & Simon Fraser University

Secwepemc ethnobotany has been studied by Palmer (1975), Ignace, Turner and Peacock (2016) and by Turner, Ignace and Loewen (forthcoming), based on collaborations with many past and present elders. We address how thinking and talking about plants and animals in our language furthers our understanding about experience and perceptions of human-plant-animal interactions and landscape. Secwepemctsin, the Shuswap language, has no lexical root taxa that are coterminous with “plant” and “animal,” however, a variety of lexical suffixes rather than lexical roots classify plants and animals into taxa that indicate vascular plants, mycelium networks and other observed salient features. Terminology and taxonomy only represent one aspect of discourse about life-forms. We find interesting clues about ecological interrelationships in narratives where humans, plants and animals interact with one another. These, often subtly, give us insights that we can connect to both Indigenous and western knowledge systems.

13:24
Presentation format: 
Oral (live)
Author(s):
Belichenko
, Olga - Ca' Foscari University of Venice

The set of edible mushrooms within a culture can be quite conservative, as there is a risk of poisoning from unknown or poorly recognized mushrooms. Yet there are changes observed in mushroom collection throughout 20 century.

Mushrooms constitute an integral part of the diet of Setos, a small indigenous people in the Russian-Estonian borderland. They speak a dialect of Estonian and practice Orthodox Christianity. Orthodox diet prescribes numerous fasts throughout a year and mushrooms are considered a common replacement for meat.

In summer 2018-19 we interviewed 25 Setos and 34 Russians about the collected mushrooms and any changes in their repertoire and preparation. The interviews were conducted upon an informed consent. While Setos revealed special preference for Russula spp., in recent decades they started to consume the same species of mushrooms as recently acquired by Russians, Macrolepiota sp. and Cortinarius sp.

This research has been supported by ERC-StG-2016-DiGe.

13:36
Presentation format: 
Oral (live)
Author(s):
Shebitz
, Daniela - Kean University
Kerns
, Steven
Ha
, Juyoung - Kean University

Secondary forests comprise over half of existing tropical forests globally. They support a great diversity of species and sequester carbon at a higher rate than old-growth forests because the trees grow more rapidly. In the Northern Zone of Costa Rica, many tree, understory, and liana species in the secondary forests provide medicinal value to the rural communities where western medical care is difficult to access. Recent research, however, has shown that secondary forests are re-cleared before they have accumulated the previously lost biomass and biodiversity, many only given 20 years to recover. This paper highlights the importance of secondary forests to a community called Boca Tapada, in Costa Rica. Some species with medicinal attributes are highlighted (ie. Pentaclethra macrophylla, Vismia macroloba and Aechmea magdalenae) for their cultural and ecological roles in the forests, and economic aspects of conserving the forests instead of clearing them are evaluated.

13:48
Presentation format: 
Oral (live)
Author(s):
Fowler
, Cynthia - Wofford College

In this presentation, I employ biosocial theory to frame concerns about legitimacy in the governance, management, and use of freshwater on Sumba Island.  Of special concern is water grabbing, which has increased during the previous 21 years on Sumba.  Under what conditions of legitimacy is water grabbing occurring?  What are the everyday practices and multiscale processes through which freshwater, and legitimate or illegitimate authority over freshwater, are made and remade in Sumba’s semi-arid landscape?  To answer these questions, I combine basic spatial, ecological, and cultural descriptions of freshwater with information drawn from remotely sensed spatial data and data collected from documents published by academics, government agencies, corporations, and the news media. My explorations are directed towards understanding the impacts of multiscale processes on the changing management of freshwater their links to the wellbeing of Sumbanese people because the availability of freshwater--while variable--limits the wellbeing of Sumba Islanders.

14:00
Presentation format: 
Oral (live)
Author(s):
Antoniou
, Anna - American Philosophical Society

How can we, as scholars, advocate for those who have lost crucial parts of their cultural heritage? How do we serve as allies in their cultural sustainability efforts? Indigenous archaeology provides the materials by which descendant communities can imagine how past practices may inspire a healthy, culturally rich, and self-determined future. In this paper, I present a case study of research conducted with, for, and by the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe and Chinook Indian Nation. This research integrates a zooarchaeological understanding of past subsistence practices into their efforts to revitalize traditional foodways, reclaim legal rights to marine resources, and improve dietary health. I explore the potentials and pitfalls of integrating archaeology into Indigenous communities’ food sovereignty initiatives. I share our success in using archaeology as a physical link to the communities’ ancestors and our ongoing struggles to use archaeological data to advocate for Indigenous rights within a state-centered system.