Northwest Native Plants: A Digital Space for Paleoethnobotanical Knowledges and Biocultural Heritage

Abstract

Biocultural heritage preservation relies on ethnobotanical knowledge and the paleoethnobotanical data used in (re)constructing histories of human–biota interactions. Biocultural heritage, defined as the knowledge and practices of Indigenous and local peoples and their biological relatives, is often guarded information, meant for specific audiences and withheld from other social circles. As such, these forms of heritage and knowledge must also be included in the ongoing data sovereignty discussions and movement. In this paper we share the process and design decisions behind creating an online database for ethnobotanical knowledge and associated paleoethnobotanical data, using a content management system designed to foreground Indigenous and local perspectives. Our main purpose is to suggest that the Mukurtu content management system, originally designed for physical items of cultural importance, be considered as a potential tool for digitizing and ethically circulating biocultural heritage, including paleoethnobotanical resources. With this database, we aim to create access to biocultural heritage and paleoethnobotanical considerations for a variety of audiences while also respecting the protected and sensitive natures of Indigenous and local knowledges.

Paleoethnobotany as Ethnobotany as Paleoethnobotany

“…Not only through cultural comparisons, but also through documenting a people's own representation of their past, through ethnohistory, oral history, and ethnoarchaeology. For example, descriptions of plant use among Native people of the American Southwest written in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and works written by or for Native Americans provide general perspectives on historic plant uses, helpful for interpreting the paleoethnobotanical record (Adams and Smith 2011; see Lepofsky et al 2020;Carney et al 2022 for discussion of responsibilities to descendant communities and ethical circulation of ethnobotanical knowledge and paleoethnobotanical data). Often these ethnobotanies and other ethnographic records reveal longterm continuity in food choices and other plant uses when combined with the archaeological record.…”

Bringing Seeds Home: An Exploration of the Rematriation and Indigenous Food Sovereignty Movements

“…The first chapter of this thesis raised discussion about Indigenous to secure and document ethnobiological information for future generations of Indigenous people (Carney et al 2022).…”

“…Heritage materials in the system can be labeled with keywords that help to categorize knowledge and only allow access to certain communities or only certain community members. As of 2022, the Northwest Native Plants database, contained information on 47 plant species (Carney et al 2022).…”

“…In this chapter, those ideas and issues can be extrapolated to palaeobotanical reference collections used by archaeologists. In the article, "Northwest Native Plants: A Digital Space for Paleoethnobotanical Knowledges and Biocultural Heritage,"Carney et al (2022) paleoethnobotanical data is contextualized in conjunction with the importance of biocultural heritage. They define the term biocultural heritage as "the ancestral rights of Indigenous peoples over the biodiversity they have conserved for generations, and the responsibility to continue to do so for future generations" (297).…”

“…Firstly, plant remains in the archaeological record are difficult to identify due to their frequent fragmentary and poorly preserved character. Secondly, sharing biocultural information often runs counter to Indigenous epistemologies about guarded knowledge(Carney et al 2022).Paleoethnobotanists use comparative collections of known botanical samples to help identify carbonized or desiccated plant remains recovered in archaeological excavations. Palaeobotanical comparative collections are logistically difficult to access as they are often hidden behind enormous paywalls in expensive articles, or in personal collections.…”