Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta) on the Northwest Coast: An Ethnobiological Profile

Traditionally, wild and managed plants were central to Pacific Northwest Coast peoples diet, technology and worldviews. However, shifting lifeways imposed by colonialism has changed the way plants are perceived and remembered. By focusing on Corylus cornuta this research will integrate various ethnobiological sub-disciplines to better understand the cultural and ecological significance of hazelnut on the Northern Northwest Coast. 

There is a weak ethnographic record of hazelnut in British Columbia, however shell remnants are ubiquitous archaeologically. Furthermore, linguistic evidence supports the hypothesis that a disjunct population of hazelnut in the Gitxsan and Wet-suet’en region of British Columbia was brought from the Salish region and potentially managed for food and fuel by Northern peoples. Combining this evidence with modern and ancient genetics, archaeological surveys, and ethnoecological studies, we will gain insights into the multi-dimensional ways in which peoples interacted with and related to their natural world.