Magister Artium - MA / This study falls within the framework of the larger multidisciplinary university health initiative (MUTHI) objectives to investigate and document the use of local medicinal plants for the treatment of HIV and symptoms of related opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis, thrush and shingles in the Western Cape. The study stems from twelve months fieldwork in Strand, Western Cape and the collection of plants from Mpoza, Eastern Cape for a variety of reasons. The study ethnographically documents when, under which circumstances and where plants are collected for use.As far as I am aware this is the first anthropological study which "follows" traditional healers in the Western Cape to a site in the Eastern Cape where they collect plants. Seventeen plants were collected from different genera which traditional healers reported to use as treatment for suspected HIV and related symptoms. For each plant I describe the medicinal uses,preparatory techniques and plant parts used as suggested by traditional healers. I also explore healer's aetiologies concerning plants, treatments and the social-material relations which are prevalent in my research settings.

This research examines an edible and medicinal plant species, Balsamorhiza sagittata Pursh (Nutt) (balsamroot, or spring sunflower). Included are: 1) a study of literature concerning previous uses and potential agronomic applications of B. sagittata; 2) an ecological study to assess the general habitat requirements of B. sagittata at three populations in the Northwestern Plateau of British Columbia; and 3) an agronomic study of B. sagittata, the main purpose of which is to explore the development of the species in a cropping system or as a horticulture plant. Ethnobotanical literature confirms that B. sagittata has a long tradition as a highly significant food and medicinal resource on the Northern plateau. A review of botanical and range literature indicates that the species is an ecologically important forb in sagebrush ecosystems. Ecological data collectci:l was significantly different between the field sites. The only variable that was statistically similar at the Pavilion Mountain, Hat Creek Valley and Botanie Valley research locations was the number of blooms on the B. sagittata plants. Furthermore the data did not indicate significant correlations to explain variation in the number of B. sagittata plants between sample plots. Preliminary agronomic experiments indicate that B. sagittata can be propagated by seed, both in a greenhouse and at a field location. Treating seeds with ethylene before stratification significantly increased seed germination. / Graduate

Human activities have fundamentally shaped ecosystems across the globe. While this is often associated with degradation, cultures with alternative philosophies can leave a different kind of legacy. First Nations in the temperate rainforest of coastal British Columbia, like the Heiltsuk and Wuikinuxv, have inhabited the land for over 14,000 years, leaving behind tangible legacies in the plant communities we see today. From fine-scale effects of enriched plant leaves to landscape-level species distributions, this research investigates the ecological legacies of human land use and management—both past and present. In one chapter, I test if plants growing on ancient, human-modified soils are enriched in nutrients. I find that plants growing on these sites contain more phosphorus and sodium, which generally benefit fruit production and overall growth. This aligns with oral histories that describe fertilized shrubs as having berries that are bigger, healthier, tastier, and more productive. In the following chapter, I create models that predict the distribution of culturally important plants. With the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department, I develop a framework for habitat suitability modelling that can be used as a tool for aiding their resource management decisions. All models performed well (AUC = 0.9 overall), and offer insight into suitable habitat across a 3,600 km2 area. Out of five predictor variables, distance to shore, site series (a vegetation index), and human influence contributed the most to model performance. This research contributes a practical tool for resource management and adds to the growing body of interdisciplinary knowledge that uses scientific methods to answer questions of cultural significance. In a time of overlapping environmental crises—like climate change and biodiversity loss—it is important to be aware of the positive influence humans can have on the environment, and how this can offer a hopeful direction for resource management into the future. / Graduate

Orientador: Ling Chau Ming / Resumo: O trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar a agricultura e inventariar as plantas alimentícias utilizadas na Terra Indígena Kaxinawá de Nova Olinda (TIKNO), Feijó, Acre, Brasil. A pesquisa foi realizada entre os anos de 2016 e 2020. A metodologia utilizada para o estudo dos sistemas de cultivo e de plantas alimentícias encontradas nessas áreas cultivadas foi a de entrevistas semiestruturadas e visitas in loco nas áreas de produção agrícola; já o estudo de plantas alimentícias silvestres, foi realizado através de listagem livre e turnê guiada em áreas de floresta da TIKNO, sendo realizados com especialistas indígenas, de ambos os sexos, e idades entre 19 e 70 anos. Para complementar também foi feito um diagnóstico socioeconômico da comunidade, auxiliando na compreensão da forma com que o conhecimento vem sendo difundido entre as diferentes famílias e gerações. Os dados coletados foram processados e avaliados através de análises descritivas e qualitativas. Com relação aos sistemas de cultivo, foram identificados quatro sistemas principais para produção agrícola, sendo eles: roçado de corte/queima, bananal, cultivo de praia e quintal agroflorestal, cada qual com características distintas entre sí. Ao todo foram identificadas 115 espécies vegetais comestíveis, sendo 50 espécies consideradas cultivadas nesses sistemas de cultivo, distribuídas em 41 gêneros, 26 famílias botânicas, e representadas por 144 variedades locais. Dentre todas as espécies cultivadas, as que apresentaram ma... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The work aimed to characterize the agriculture and cultivation of plants used in the Kaxinawá Indigenous Land of Nova Olinda (TIKNO), Feijó, Acre, Brazil. A survey was carried out between the years 2016 and 2020. A methodology used for the study of cultivation systems and food plants, in these cultivated areas, was that of semi-structured interviews and visits to places in the areas of agricultural production; the study of wild food plants, on the other hand, was carried out through the list of books and was guided in areas of the TIKNO forest, being carried out with indigenous specialists, both sexes and ages between 19 and 70 years. In addition, a socio-economic diagnosis of the community was also made, helping to understand the way in which knowledge is disseminated among different families and used. The collected data were processed and applied through descriptive and qualitative analyzes. Regarding the cultivation systems, four main systems of agricultural production were used, being: cutting / burning clearing, banana plantation, beach cultivation and agroforestry yard, each with different characteristics. In all, 115 edible plant species were identified, 50 species cultivated in the cultivation systems, distributed in 41 genera, 26 botanical families and represented by 144 local varieties. Among all cultivated species, the largest number of varieties were Banana (Musa ssp.), With 20 varieties, Cassava (Manihot esculenta Krantz.), With 19 varieties, and Corn (Zea mays L... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Previous studies in Native American ethnobotany on the shared use of medicinal and cultural plants between communities fail to clearly reveal if these shared uses are part of changing culture or remain a stabilizing connection between old and new tribes. During the late 1700's to early 1800's, various factions of the Creek tribes of Georgia migrated into Florida, forming a new tribe called the Seminoles. This event provides the unique opportunity to study the changing cultural and medicinal uses of plants by a new tribe in a new geographic location, revealing if cultural purposes were passed from one group to another. A list of plants used for medicinal purposes by the Creek and Seminole tribes was produced from previous studies. Utilizing these lists, comparisons were drawn to determine if cultural practices were carried on between tribes as they changed locations and lifestyles. This study examines the use of 465 plants in 125 plant families. Of these, 39 plants were found to be used by both tribes for different treatment purposes. In contrast, only 15 plants where used by both tribes for similar treatments. The small number of shared use of plants indicates the newly formed Seminole tribe developed new cultural and medicinal practices. These findings indicate that the plants used for medicinal purposes by the Native American tribes of the southeast were a part of a changing culture, not a stabilizing connection between old and new tribes as previously thought.

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In this dissertation, I explore how, in Canada, Indigenous people’s relationships with culturally-significant plant species are an expression of Aboriginal rights, and I ask how these rights can be affirmed and exercised using a form of intersocietal law within and between First Nations and state governments. I examine how my own and others’ ethnobotanical and ethnoecological research can help to decolonize the Crown legal systems that limit Indigenous peoples in regenerating their relationships with native plant species and the ecosystems within which they are situated. In order to explore how Indigenous people’s relationships with native plant species can be expressed in law, my dissertation is grounded in a case study, developed and carried out in collaboration with the T’Sou-ke Nation, members of which have lived on southern Vancouver Island since time immemorial as part of the Straits Salish language group. Using the T’Sou-ke case study as an example, I explain how this evidence of knowledge and use of plants helps to root contemporary First Nations’ rights throughout their territories, which is essential to establishing the basis of land and resource rights that have legal force to be claimed today.I indicate current challenges faced by T’Sou-ke Nation in exercising plant-associated rights throughout their territory and outline how the current legal test for proving Aboriginal rights is problematic. The T’Sou-ke have an abundance of rich evidence of their use of 100 native plant species and of Indigenous laws and governance associated with the same. I contend that the obvious and long-standing Indigenous management of these plant species and various ecosystems on southern Vancouver Island supports a very significant claim of legal rights and I believe that my research is broadly applicable to other First Nations in BC and beyond. The T’Sou-ke Nation, historically and today, are norm creating, generating and interpreting people as reflected in their distinct social organization adapted and adjusted by their members through many changing social and ecological variables over centuries. The re-examination of the values, rules, protocols, customs and practices associated with markers of Indigenous plant use throughout Straits Salish landscapes, specifically with the assistance of Indigenous knowledge holders, as well as ethnohistorical, ethnobotanical, and traditional ecological knowledge, re-frames how evidence of land use and occupancy is presented, and, ultimately, how we might all govern these resources together. For the T’Sou-ke, laws around plants are not limited to certain traditional practices, or to specific sites or places; law also rests in species and in the long-term relationships that people have with culturally important plant species. As such, the normative ordering of T’Sou-ke laws relating to their plant use and management must be judged on T’Sou-ke terms, not by Canadian legal terms. My hope is that this research contributes to the larger discussion of acknowledging Indigenous peoples’ distinct and culturally relative rights and principles with respect to native plants, while strengthening and growing the ties that bind all British Columbians together. / Graduate / 2023-09-07

No / An ethnobiological field study on food plants and medicinal foods traditionally consumed in three Arbëresh (ethnic Albanian) communities in northern Lucania (southern Italy) document approximately 120 botanical taxa used for these purposes. Non-domesticated food vegetables (liakra), mostly gathered during the spring season, play a central role as traditional functional food. Quantitative ethnobotanical, ethnotaxonomical, ethnoecological, ethnogastronomical, and ethnopharmacological aspects related to gathering, processing, cooking and consumption of liakra are discussed. Unusual food species, such as Lycium europeaum, Centaurea calcitrapa, and a few spontaneous weedy Asteraceae and Brassicaceae species are locally used in the kitchen. Most of these are very poorly known phytochemically and phytopharmacologically. Moreover, an analysis of taste perception of the most commonly used botanical foods was conducted in the village of Ginestra. Arbëresh taste classification and indigenous criteria related to the perception of bitter taste in considering non-cultivated plants as food or medicine are discussed as well.

The Seminole people of Florida have used plants as traditional remedies for hundreds of years. After European contact their knowledge was transformed from proto-Muskhogean practices to new hybrids of traditional and modem practices. As a result of European pressure and influence, there is a risk of this knowledge being lost. Traditional Botanical Knowledge (TBK) can shed light on new compounds and healing properties for use in the medical and holistic communities of the U.S. This project systematically examines the connections between extant cosmological knowledge and extant medicinal knowledge among the Seminole. This study uses a number of methods and sources of data: ethnographic interviews, field observations at Seminole and Miccosukee events, demographic information, myths, material culture, artwork, field notes and publications by anthropologists and botanists were used as well to find patterns connecting medicinal flora with metaphysical associations such as animals, directions, colors, and temperatures similar to other Native American cultures. Larger implications of this research include the production of a useful ethno-medical and ethno-botanical research tool and the preservation of cultural practices within a threatened culture.