Leigh Joseph

Topic

Feeding Our Spirit: Connecting Plants, Health, Place and Identity. Renewing Ethnobotanical Knowledge in the Skwxwú7mesh First Nation

School of Environmental Studies

Date & location

• Friday, April 5, 2024

• 10:00 A.M.

• Squamish, Totem Hall

  And Virtual

Reviewers

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Darcy Mathews, School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria (Co-Supervisor)

• Dr. Alain Cuerrier, School of Environmental Studies, University of Victora (Co-Supervisor)

• Dr. Trevor Lantz, School of Environmental Studies, UVic (Member)

• Dr. Andrew Walsh, Department of Anthropology, UVic (Outside Member) 

External Examiner

• Dr. Jennifer Grenz, Forest Resource Management & Applied Biology, University of British Columbia 

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe, School of Public Administration, UVic

   

Abstract

In a time of Indigenous Resurgence, interrelationships with culturally important plants are key to the health and well-being of Canadian Indigenous Peoples. I work with my home community of Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) First Nations in British Columbia. My research is conducted within the context of the Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) crisis in Indigenous communities across Canada. Type 2 Diabetes is five times higher than the general population and diagnosis is happening at younger ages. Drawing on theoretical and methodological approaches in ethnobotany, ethnobiology, and Indigenous Studies— and framing health and wellness from a Skwxwú7mesh perspective that considers physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health—I answer four interrelated questions: How might developing an indigenizing and decolonizing approach to ethnobotany move the field forward to the benefit of the communities we work with, and situate the discipline as a positive contributor to Indigenous cultural-political resurgence in Canada? How can culturally important plants help connect a person’s sense of health (physical, spiritual, and emotional) to place? What do the connections between plants, health and place mean to the participants themselves? What role do culturally important plants play in developing approaches to addressing T2D from an Indigenous conceptualization of health viewpoint? These questions emerge from overarching themes and priorities that have Skwxwú7mesh expressed in initial discussions and consultation. The results of this study will inform the Skwxwú7mesh First Nations practices on culturally rooted approaches to health through rebuilding Indigenous plant relationships. The results of this work also provide a framework for other Indigenous communities interested in reconnecting with their traditional plant practices and addressing Type 2 Diabetes in a culturally relevant way.