The Historical Ecology of Cultural Keystone Places of the Northwest

For many Indigenous people around the world, their traditional lands are archives of their histories, from the deepest of time to recent memories and practices. Some of these landscapes hold particular importance to the identity and well-being of cultural groups today. Such places, recently termed “Cultural Keystone Places” (CKPs), are iconic for these groups and have become symbols of the connections between the past and the future of people and place.  In this session, we present the historical ecology of Cultural Keystone Places of the Northwest. Researchers bring together the data and knowledge gleaned from interviews, oral histories, and ecological, archaeological, and botanical studies to recreate the deep and recent histories of these cultural landscapes. These CKPs are vivid examples of the historical secrets held within the lands, water, and ecosystems of the Northwest. Extensive management and use of culturally valued resources and ecosystems – reflected in a continuum of native fruit orchards, berry gardens, intertidal root gardens, and clam gardens – belies the appellation of Northwest Coast peoples as “hunter-gatherers” and their landscapes as “wild”.