Native American Plants: Decolonizing Indigenous Knowledge ((4 Credits))

Catalog description

Western botanical knowledge tends to be stand-alone and based on a scientific view of the plant as an object of study. Indigenous botanical knowledge is woven throughout the fabric of culture and considers the plant itself as an Elder. We will address the differences between these pathways in terms of cultural factors such as gender, social structure, and food distribution, and in terms of environmental factors such as ecological integrity and biocultural diversity. Discussions and assignments will be based on academic reading, transcriptions of oral histories conveyed by indigenous elders, and interactions with plants. Students will consider relationships between indigenous prophecies, traditional plant knowledge, and contemporary ecological challenges and apply their learning in study of a self-selected Native American plant in cultural context. Communications skills will be developed via a series of related projects, written, oral, and video.