Today a report by the Boreal Songbird Initiative, the Canadian Boreal Initiative, and the David Suzuki Foundation was released about the increased need to recognize the traditional relationships between indigenous peoples of the boreal forest and the plants they’ve depended on for thousands of years. It’s easy to think about threatened wildlife or carbon storage when discussing the importance or values of the boreal forest, but the ethnobotanical value (meaning relationship between people and plants) is an often overlooked part of this equation.
Many of the original inhabitants of the boreal forest had meat-rich diets, and many still do today. But there are many nutrients that don’t come in the form of meat. Foods such as wild blueberries and wild rice provided and still provide key nutrition to indigenous communities in the north.
Cree Children Picking Wild Blueberries
Credit: Natasha Moine
In addition, the relationships between people and plants in the boreal doesn’t stop at food – many of the plant species used include uses for medicine, shelter, transportation, and art. In this sense the boreal forest can be seen as a grocery, pharmacy, supply store, and spiritual center for the traditional communities who have lived there for thousands of years.
Canada is unique in the sense that it’s a modernized western democracy yet still has thousands of indigenous people living in relatively intact and pristine forests. While modern tools and accessories like clothes, guns, and electricity have reached some of these communities, you will still find most using the same knowledge sets and understanding of plants they’ve been using for generations. This is something that should and must be valued when discussing land-use and conservation in the boreal forest.
Cree Men Carving Canoe Paddles
Credit: Natasha Moine
Here is the report page (includes link to full report) and press release – the report includes tables for all plants used in various ways as well as descriptions of the use:
