XI. Faith and Gender

Protestants in evangelical and mainline traditions embrace the notion of a Creator God who entrusted the stewardship of the natural world and its resources to humans. This belief nestled in the depths of Christianity, coupled with an ever-increasing concern for environmental degradation, has compelled the global Lausanne movement and the Presbyterian (USA) and Disciples of God denominations to develop robust creation care programs. Although the programs differ in specifics, principles of advocacy, social justice, sustainable practice, and education underpin them all. In my paper I describe a Christian theological foundation for environmental stewardship and outline two denominational programs. Then I present a case study of one Presbyterian church implementing the PC(USA) Earth Care Congregation program. I analyze the components that have made this program successful and hypothesize on the far-reaching positive implications of faith-based environmental programs. I end with potential points of collaboration between religious and secular stewardship initiatives.

Seeds are adapted and situated in everyday life and practice. People care for seeds through alternative models of preservation and forms of kinship for next generations that resist settler registrars of property. My paper first reviews the rich ethnobiological scholarship and activism around local and embodied knowledges, seed practices, and critiques of intellectual property. I then advance feminist science studies scholarship on situated knowledge(s) and pilot ethnographic data collected through participant observation of seed yield trials in the Pacific Northwest. As a part of my larger dissertation project, I interrogate plant breeding science’s tendency to suspend and naturalize seeds’ dynamic relations. I argue that feminist attunements to sciences, including ethnobiology, will help scholars trouble the inherent power dynamics in knowledge production and seed relations. In short, it matters how we think about seeds and toward what futures (Haraway 2013).

Reviewing the history of post-contact period settlements of Indian communities/tribal settlements in the current State of Michigan and its earlier territories (1600-2020) led to very detailed early historical period details on food subsistence and Anishinaabek cultural knowledge of plants. During a novel project to understand the distribution of Michigan's current federally recognized communities, the writings and manuscripts of the Catholic Church, primarily from the Venerable Frederic Baraga, Bishop of Marquette, 1853-1868. His diary, and official letters written to and from Baraga revealed key details about maple sap harvest and sugar production, wild rice harvesting, farming, fishing, and other subsistence activities among the tribal communities Bishop Baraga was a missionary among, and later ministered to as a bishop. Other documents from the Notre Dame Archives especially the Frederic Baraga Papers (1809-1908) provided valuable missing first-person details of life among early Michigan's tribal communities.

This study explores Maya women’s experiences with handicraft production within a Maya community near Chichén Itzá using gender and autonomy of subsistence as frameworks. Drawing on ethnographic data, this article examines the lives of artisan women to answer the following questions: 1) What are the opportunities and challenges that indigenous artisan women face in handicraft production? 2) What is the role that handicraft production plays in indigenous women’s autonomy? By answering these questions, this study attempts to contribute to the knowledge gap around indigenous women’s handicraft production in academic literature, and to bring to light gender inequalities within the heritage tourism industry among indigenous communities.

This research explored the pivotal roles that plants play in the cultural, spiritual, religious beliefs and practices of the people in Southwest, Nigeria. Ethno-botanical surveys were carried out to identify plants used in religious and cultural practices in six southwest Nigerian States. Information was obtained from 100 respondents through oral interview. Seventy plant species representing 33 families were identified during ethnobotanical surveys. Fabaceae had the highest plant species while Tiliaceae had the least. Garcinia cola, Cola nitida, Milicia excelsa and Dioscorea alata are frequently offered to appease deities or ancestors, acting as conduit for spiritual communion and guidance. These plants are used in rituals to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Leaves and roots are interpreted as part of divination rituals, helping individuals navigate life's uncertainties. Plants are deeply embedded in the cultural identity and belief systems of the Yoruba people, contributing to the continuity and richness of their spiritual heritage.