The Shared Stories of People and Plants: Cultural and Ecological Relationships Between People and Plants in Makkovik, Nunatsiavut (Labrador, Canada)

Abstract

People and plants live in complex networks of cultural and ecological relationships. In northern Canada, plants are important to cultural practices, just as cultural practices shape plant communities. This research responds to research priorities identified by Makkovimiut, residents of the Inuit Community of Makkovik, Nunatsiavut (Labrador, Canada), on people-plant relationships (2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016). These priorities shaped the research objectives, which form the three central chapters of this integrated thesis: i) learning how to respectfully approach research on people-plant relationships in Makkovik; ii) learning about Makkovimiut relationships with plants; iii) learning about the effects of cultural practices on plant communities.Chapter 2 details and evaluates approaches in Indigenous methodologies that guide the research. As a non-Indigenous student, I rooted research questions in personal meaning and community relevancy, which I sought to understand through preliminary research, the ongoing guidance of community advisors, and by going as a learner to Makkovimiut plant mentors. An iterative approach to learning helped build relationships with Makkovimiut plant mentors and plants. Chapter 3 discusses Makkovimiut plant knowledge and practices. Plants support life and livelihood for Makkovimiut, and sustain cultural practices such as fishing, which reciprocally support plant communities. Plants are more than objects: plants are present in memory, well-being, and sharing, and have voices of their own. In actively managing-caring for-plants, Makkovimiut nurture the ecological and cultural values that create healthy communities for both people and plants. These values are expressed in the stories people tell about plants.My thanks start at the beginning, with my family. My parents Carol and Dieter Oberndorfer have taught by example through their respect, curiosity, care, and love for the natural world. These early lessons have been the gifts that have directed the course of my life. My brother Derek, my original outdoor companion, shares an appreciation for this great world that continues to bring our family closer. Thank you, Mom, Dad, and Derek, for all the gifts that are beyond measure and beyond thanks. v their warm welcome and friendship. There are so many kindnesses small and large that are so freely given. These are the lasting lessons of this work.

Paaliup Qarmangit 1 site geoarchaeology: Taphonomy of a Thule‐Inuit semi‐subterranean dwelling in a periglacial context in northeastern Hudson Bay

“…Draba sp. seeds were identified in samples from test pit O‐3, which could be associated with phosphorus enrichment of soils following research by Oberndorfer (). Montia fontana seeds were identified in samples taken from test pits O‐3, O‐4, and O‐5.…”

Changing the role of non-Indigenous research partners in practice to support Inuit self-determination in research

“…In educating oneself about relational accountability, scholars have explored the questions of whether non-Indigenous researchers can learn how to be relational or support relational approaches (Kovach 2009; Morton Ninomiya and Pollock 2017) to ensure authentic and ethical relationships with Indigenous people (Bull 2010;Fletcher et al 2016). There is an emerging group of non-Indigenous researchers aiming to further decolonize their approaches by grounding their research with Indigenous peoples in relational accountability (Oberndorfer 2016;Gerlach 2018). Gerlach (2018) and Oberndorfer (2016) outline how relationality influenced their motives, actions, and reflexivity.…”

“…There is an emerging group of non-Indigenous researchers aiming to further decolonize their approaches by grounding their research with Indigenous peoples in relational accountability (Oberndorfer 2016;Gerlach 2018). Gerlach (2018) and Oberndorfer (2016) outline how relationality influenced their motives, actions, and reflexivity. Oberndorfer (2016, p. 5), in a community-based research project with Inuit in Makkovik, Nunatsiavut, discusses how relationality helped her to see "plants not as objects, but in the context of relationships: with people, with cultural practices, with animals, with weather, with soils, and with space and time".…”

Developing a community-based enterprise: Nunatsiavut Inuit knowledge and perspectives on the use of medicinal plant Rhodiola rosea

“…It was said that they used to harvest the tips (leaves and tops) when they were red to have as a trailside snack, for a burst of juice with sweet taste. In Makkovik, the early spring buds are compared to Brussel sprouts, but participants said the plants were not good to eat once they'd flowered, that they get too tough and that "they have a worm in them then" (Oberndorfer 2016;see Beaulieu et al 2016 for a description of the gall mite in Rhodiola rosea). They would also cook the stalks with pork on special occasions.…”

“…She suggests that these at-risk populations could be candidates for transplantation and/or for early product production while the cultivated crops are getting established. Environmental concerns were also voiced in Makkovik, where participants had limited their harvest of tulligunnak due to concerns of pollutants contaminating the plants in town, and the danger of traveling outside of town in Spring [as a result of uncertain ice conditions due to recent climate fluctuations] (Oberndorfer 2016). In Makkovik it was also noted that traditional harvesting practices could benefit local Rhodiola plants; by harvesting the edible buds in spring and prolonging the vegetative growth state, flowering is delayed, and plant growth is more vigorous (Oberndorfer 2016).…”