“Everything We Do, It's Cedar”: First Nation and Ecologically-Based Forester Land Management Philosophies in Coastal British Columbia

Abstract

BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Combining data from field surveys and archaeological records to predict the distribution of culturally important trees

“…In the coastal temperate rainforests of north‐western North America, western redcedar ( Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don; hereafter “redcedar”) is important to coastal ecosystems, economies and cultures (Antos, Filipescu, & Negrave, ; Klinka & Brisco, ). Redcedar is considered the “tree of life” to indigenous people because of its prominent role across diverse aspects of traditional and contemporary life (Garibaldi & Turner, ; Zahn, Palmer, & Turner, ). For example, the emergence of redcedar in these coastal forests during the Holocene is associated with rapid technological innovation stemming from its myriad uses in transportation, structural housing material, art, clothes and spirituality (Hebda & Mathewes, ; Stewart, ).…”

Integrating traditional ecological knowledge into US public land management: Knowledge gaps and research priorities

“…Traditional ecological knowledge and SEK systems are frequently contrasted, and cited as a primary barrier that prevents incorporation of TEK into land management. While some contend that TEK and SEK are inherently incompatible (Bohensky and Maru, 2011), in practice these knowledge systems are largely complementary, providing distinct benefits and possessing inherent limitations (Moller et al, 2004;Cullen-Unsworth et al, 2012;Holmes and Jampijinpa, 2013;Johnson et al, 2015;Holtgren and Auer, 2016;Zahn et al, 2018;Keats and Evans, 2020). Traditional ecological knowledge provides a long-term and comprehensive view of ecological systems, which can provide key insights for scientific inquiry and advance ecological disciplines (Moller et al, 2004).…”

Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Understand the Diversity and Abundance of Culturally Important Trees

“…Relative to the time scales of conventional industrial harvest rotations (Binkley 1987;Mathey et al 2009), these types of old trees cannot meaningfully be considered a renewable resource. Such a perspective is not new; scholars and Indigenous groups have questioned the sustainability of industrial cedar harvesting for decades (Green 2007;Minore 1983;Russo and Zubalik 1992;Yazzie 2007;Zahn et al 2018). The failure to adequately account for the importance of cultural resources often stems from thinking about species and the environment as homogenous, substitutable commodities, instead of considering their diverse values and the broader ecosystem and cultural services they provide that may not be reflected in economic markets (Blicharska and Mikusin 'ski 2014;Chan et al 2012;Russo and Zubalik 1992;Turner et al 2009).…”

“…We use a community-based research approach and a study area that covers the traditional territories of five Indigenous Nations that are part of the N a nwa k olas Council in British Columbia, Canada. The Kwak'wala name for a full-grown redcedar tree used by these Nations is “ wilkw ” and a large redcedar tree or log is “ k ' wa' x tłu .” Indigenous people in this region, similar to many cultural groups in the Pacific Northwest of North America, use this species extensively for cultural practices related to clothing, transportation, housing, and spirituality—these myriad uses have led to redcedar being described as “the tree of life” (Garibaldi and Turner 2004; Stewart 1995; Zahn et al 2018). Western redcedar is a common species in some coastal ecosystems (Green and Klinka 1994), but the largest growth forms that are suitable for carving dugout canoes, totem poles, large ceremonial masks, and traditional buildings are rare (Benner et al 2019; Sutherland et al 2016; Figure 1).…”