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TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Abstract
This paper discusses the characteristics and application of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Wisdom (TEKW) of aboriginal peoples in British Columbia, Canada. Examples are provided from various groups, most notably, the Secwepemc (Shuswap) Interior Salish and and Nuu-Chah-Nulth peoples of the Northwest Coast, covering a range of features comprising TEKW: knowledge of ecological principles, such as succession and interrelatedness of all components of the environment; use of ecological indicators; adaptive strategies for monitoring, enhancing, and sustainably harvesting resources; effective systems of knowledge acquisition and transfer; respectful and interactive attitudes and philosophies; close identification with ancestral lands; and beliefs that recognize the power and spirituality of nature. These characteristics, taken in totality, have enabled many groups of aboriginal peoples to live sustainably within their local environments for many thousands of years. In order for TEKW to be incorporated appropriately into current ecosystem-based management strategies, the complete context of TEKW, including its philosophical bases, must be recognized and respected. A case study of ecological and cultural knowledge of the traditional root vegetables yellow avalanche lily (Erythronium grandiflorum) and balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) illustrates ways in which these components can be integrated.
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In the citing paper
“traditional Aboriginal worldviews do not see nature as separate from society (Tanner 1979, pp. 88-107;Turner et al. 2000)”
From Views of Aboriginal People in Northern Ontario on Ontario’s approach to Aboriginal values in forest management planning (2009) · cites this paper as Turner et al. 2000
In the citing paper
“The land, water, animals and plants are regarded as your kinfolk, not as a commodity that can be exploited”
From “Indigenizing” Food Sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous Food Practices and Ecological Knowledges in Canada and the United States (2016) · cites this paper as [48]
In the citing paper
“Our relationships to the plants and animals that give themselves to us as food derive from this notion of iisaak, which enforces sustainability and places sanctions on those who are stingy or those who are wasteful”
From hishuk’ish tsawalk—Everything is One. Revitalizing Place-Based Indigenous Food Systems through the Enactment of Food Sovereignty (2019) · cites this paper as Turner, Ignace, & Ignace, 2000
In the citing paper
“Iisaak is about a most basic understanding, which teaches that all life forms are equal, that they all are held in equal esteem.”
From hishuk’ish tsawalk—Everything is One. Revitalizing Place-Based Indigenous Food Systems through the Enactment of Food Sovereignty (2019) · cites this paper as Turner, Ignace, & Ignace, 2000
In the citing paper
“Nuu-chah-nulth-aht or Nuu-chah-nulth people are raised with the understanding of iisaak, which applies to all life forms as well as the land and the water.”
From hishuk’ish tsawalk—Everything is One. Revitalizing Place-Based Indigenous Food Systems through the Enactment of Food Sovereignty (2019) · cites this paper as Turner, Ignace, & Ignace, 2000
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References 31 · Cited by 604
Research works printed but not linked: 8
- M. K. Anderson, 1998 .From tillage to table: The indigenous cultivation of geophytes for food in California .Journal of Ethnobiology, 17(2) :149 -170 .
- 10.1007/BF02169038 · DOI
- G. Palmer, 1975 .Shuswap Indian ethnobotany .Syesis, 8 :29 -81 . · DOI
- D. L. Pokotylo, and P. D. Froese .1983 .Archaeological evidence for prehistoric root gathering on the southern Interior Plateau of British Columbia: a case study from upper Hat Creek Valley .Canadian Journal of Archaeology, 7 , 2, 127 -57 .
- R. T. Richards, 1997 .What the Natives know: wild mushrooms and forest health .Journal of Forestry, September 1997: :5 -10 . · DOI
- N. J. Turner, and A. Davis .1993 . When everything was scarce : The role of plants as famine foods in northwestern North America .Journal of Ethnobiology, 13 , 2, 1 -28 .
- N. J. Turner, and R. J. Hebda .1992 .Contemporary use of bark for medicine by two Salishan Native elders of southeast Vancouver Island .Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 229 :(1990):59 -72 .
- N. J. Turner, and D. C. Loewen .1998 .The original free trade : exchange of botanical products and associated plant knowledge in northwestern North America .Anthropologica, 60 :49 -70 . · DOI
Metadata
- Authors
- Turner, N. J., Ignace, M. B., & Ignace, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Victoria (CA)
- Simon Fraser University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Turner, Nancy J.
- Venue
- Ecological Applications
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2000-10
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1275-1287
- ISSN
- 1051-0761 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2141039320
- Cited by
- 604
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 33 · 2012: 24
- FWCI
- 20.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Ecological Applications (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Indigenous Studies and Ecology
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies
- Keywords
- traditional ecological knowledge, indigenous knowledge, Aboriginal peoples, Secwepemc, Shuswap, Nuu-chah-nulth, Northwest Coast, ecological indicators, knowledge transfer, ecosystem-based management, Erythronium grandiflorum, Balsamorhiza sagittata, ancestral land
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- This page
- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010%5B1275:tekawo%5D2.0.co;2
- The paper
- Turner, N. J., Ignace, M. B., & Ignace, R. (2000). TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. Ecological Applications. https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010%5B1275%3Atekawo%5D2.0.co%3B2
