Ethnobotany Of The Blackfoot Indians

Describes approximately 100 species of plants and their uses in religion and ceremony, folklore, as birth control, medicine, horse medicine, diet, and for crafts.

This study documents Blackfoot plant use as provided by elderly informants schooled in the tradition of plant uses. Use of approximately one hundred species are described in topical form: religion and ceremony, birth control, medicine, horse medicine, diet, craft and folklore.

Use of plants by the native peoples of coastal and interior British Columbia for technological applications, eg. for shelter clothing, nets, ropes etc. Individual plant species are listed, with their botanical descriptions, habitats, distribution in the province, and the ways in which they were employed in native technology.

This work is the third in a series of six books about the fieldwork done among Wisconsin Indians to discover their uses of native or introduced plants and. The author dedicates much attention to the history of these plant uses by their ancestors. The author also mentions the decline of the native art and traditions of planting the younger generations of the people.

At least 350 species of native plants were recognized and named by the Thompson Indian people, based on ethnographic records and interviews with contemporary Thompson speakers. Most of these plants were used in traditional Thompson life as foods, medicine or materials. In addition, nearly 40 species of introduced plants and plant products have been named recently in Thompson. Plants were a significant traditional food source; edible fruits and roots, mushrooms, greens and other plant products were preserved in quantity for year-round utilization, and were widely traded both within and outside the Thompson area. Woods, barks, roots and fibres were vital in Thompson technology, providing materials for shelter, utensils, and clothing, and other essential features of Thompson life. Medicinal plants comprised the bulk of species used by the Thompson. Plant medicines varied greatly in their preparation and application. Few have been tested pharmacologically. Thompson territory lies within several different ecological zones; hence vegetation varied considerably within it, and this factor encouraged active distribution of resources through trade. During times of famine, certain plant foods, such as cactus, were particularly significant in preventing widespread starvation. Only a few native plant species are actively used by Thompson people today. Wild plant foods are largely restricted to several types of berries, a few mushroom species, and one or two species each of greens and 2roots.3 With few exceptions, only members of the oldest generation are still using traditional medicines.

During the 1920s Harlan I. Smith, an archaeologist with the National Museums of Canada, documented plant and animal knowledge and use among the Gitksan, Nuxalk and Ulkatcho Carrier of British Columbia. Smith’s work is the earliest, relatively comprehensive ethnobotanical study for any Tsimshianic group. This edited version of his manuscript contains information on 112 botanical species and on their traditional cultural roles among the Gitksan

Handbook of Edible Weeds contains detailed descriptions and illustrations of 100 edible weeds, representing 100 genera of higher plant species. Some of the species are strictly American, but many are cosmopolitan weeds. Each account includes common names recognized by the Weed Science Society of America, standard Latin scientific names, uses, and distribution (geographic and ecological). Cautionary notes are included regarding the potential allergenic or other harmful properties of many of the weeds.