Envisioning a Coast Salish Forest Garden

1
Envisioning a Coast Salish Forest Garden

• Brian D. Compton, Ph.D.
• Environmental Science Program, Department of
  Science, Northwest Indian College, Bellingham, WA

Abstract This two-year project involves the
preliminary examination of aspects of botany,
ethnobotany, forest gardening, and related topics
within a Coast Salish, specifically Lummi,
context. The project was designed to determine
the potential for revitalizing traditional plant
knowledge and harvest practices related to
Pacific lowland forests and the Indigenous
peoples whose traditional homelands encompass
those forests. Native Environmental Science
student interns worked with faculty from
Northwest Indian College and Washington State
University to conduct research on several topics
within the broader scope of the project. Research
findings include results of botanical surveys and
ethnobotanical research regarding vascular plants
on and near Northwest Indian College as well as a
proposed site for a forest garden. Individual
student topics also focused on historical impacts
on native vegetation in the area, as well as
traditional and novel practices regarding the
management and harvest of plants for food,
materials, and other applications for possible
implementation at the college campus in the
future.

• Discussion
• At the end of year one of the project, three
  Native Environmental Science students engaged in
  research on Lummi ethnobotany and aspects of
  traditional plant management and forest
  gardening.
• Individual student topics included
• Botany and Lummi ethnobotany within the context
  of the Western Hemlock Zone, the NWIC campus and
  adjacent forest
• Historical impacts on the Kwina Woods
• A contemporary view towards food forestry and
  Indigenous practices and theory (including
  hüglekultur).
• The unique concept of a Coast Salish Food Forest
  was examined with reference to previous
  explorations of creative and culturally
  significant landscaping on the NWIC campus (cf.
  Mithun, 2004 and Northwest Indian College,
  2002).
• Student interns engaged in the process of
  revitalization of traditional plant knowledge and
  harvest within a Tribal college setting.
• Native, introduced, and ethnobotanical plants
  were identified and documented. The cedar grove
  has been identified as a possible location for
  forest gardening which would enhance its cultural
  and scientific values.
• The project involved integration with other
  efforts at NWIC and included plans to design and
  implement fruit and nut shrubs as an initial
  stage in the development of a Coast Salish Forest
  Garden during the second year of the project.

• Introduction
• Northwest Indian College (NWIC) is a regional
  tribal college chartered by the Lummi Nation and
  located near Bellingham, WA. NWIC received a
  two-year grant (2013-2015) from the United States
  Department of Agriculture National Institute of
  Food and Agriculture in support of a project
  entitled Telling the Story of the Land
  Revitalizing Traditional Plant Knowledge and
  Harvest with a View Toward Sustainability.
• Is it possible to revitalize traditional plant
  knowledge and harvest practices related to
  lowland forest ecosystems with a focus on
  promoting sustainability? Our approach examined
  aspects of Coast Salish traditional plant
  knowledge and practices, as well as the nature
  and application of forest gardening, and a food
  production and land management system based on
  replicating woodland ecosystems. In this system,
  native forest species are maintained and enhanced
  but the forest garden may also incorporate other
  fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, and
  vegetables which have yields directly useful to
  humans.
• The project included Native Environmental
  Science students and integrated with other
  efforts on campus, including those associated
  with Indigenous Service Learning, AmeriCorps
  VISTA, and the U.S. Environmental Projection
  Agencys Tribal ecoAmbassadors Program.
• Year One (2014) Summer Science Internship
  Students
• Paul Cline (Nooksack-Lummi), Natane Miles
  (Pima-Maricopa) and Renae Stanley (Lummi).
• Project Focus
• Coast Salish, specifically Lummi, homelands
  (Figure 1).
• Revitalization of traditional Coast Salish plant
  knowledge and harvest practices related to
  lowland forest ecosystems with a focus on
  promoting sustainability (Figure 2).
• Reintroduction of NWIC students and others to the
  basic concepts of indigenous forest knowledge.
• Expansion of those aspects by exploring the
  potential for innovative forest gardening
  practices that may enhance and expand human use
  of local forest resources.
• The Vision
• Development of a Coast Salish forest garden on
  the NWIC Lummi campus rooted in traditional Coast
  Salish botanical knowledge and practice which may
  also incorporate novel approaches where
  appropriate.
• Integration of cultural, educational,
  interpretive, and practical aspects of native and
  non-native vegetation.

References Bateman, A. R., Meyers, R., Russell,
E. L. (Eds.). (2003). Envisioning Kwina Estate
Design options for the Northwest Indian College
and Lummi Nation Master Plan. Seattle, WA
University of Washington, Department of Landscape
Architecture. Crawford, M. (2010). Creating a
forest garden Working with nature to grow edible
crops. Totnes, England Green Books. Google
Earth. (July 20, 1998). Northwest Indian College.
484737.55 N and 1223709.66'" W. Retrieved on
August 6, 2014. Google Earth. (November 3, 2011).
Northwestern Indian College. 484737.55 N and
1223709.66'" W. Google Earth. Retrieved on
August 6, 2014. Grindell, C. E. (2009, May 27).
Study area (Lummi Natural Resources Dept.,
2008) map. Retrieved August 3, 2014, from EGEO
452 final project website http//deptweb.wwu.edu/
huxley/huxweb/gis/EGEO452/09_projects/Cynthia_Grin
dell/EGEO_452_Final_Project.html Kruckeberg, A.
R. (1991). The natural history of Puget Sound
County. Seattle, WA University of Washington
Press. Mithun. (2004, June 2). Northwest Indian
College master plan. Bellingham, WA Northwest
Indian College. Moerman, D. (2003, May 14).
Native American ethnobotany. Dearborn, MI,
University of Michigan. Retrieved August 3, 2014,
from http//herb.umd.umich.edu/1 PLANTS database.
(2013, August 6). United States Department of
Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation
Service. Retrieved August 6, 2013 from
http//plants.usda.gov/java/ Pojar, J.,
MacKinnon, A. (Eds.). (2004). Plants of the
Pacific Northwest Coast Washington, Oregon,
British Columbia Alaska (Rev. ed.). Renton, WA
Lone Pine. (Original work published
1994) Rosiere, R. E. (n.d.). Pacific northwest
forests. Range types of North America. Retrieved
August 3, 2014 from http//www.tarleton.edu/Depar
tments/range/Woodlands20and20Forest/Pacific20No
rthwest20Forests/PacificNorthwestForests.html Sea
ttle University (n.d.) Lushootseed and Coast
Salish culture map. Taqwsheblu Vi Hilbert
Ethnobotanical Garden Retrieved August 3, 2014
from http//www.seattleu.edu/grounds/gardens/ethno
botanical/lushootseed/ UW Herbarium at the Burke.
(2014). Burke Museum of Natural History and
Culture. Retrieved August 6, 2014 from
http//www.burkemuseum.org/herbarium 1
Ethnobotanical data from Moerman (2003) derives
from Gunther, E. (1973). University of Washington
publications in anthropology Vol. X, No. 1.
Ethnobotany of western Washington The knowledge
and use of indigenous plants by Native Americans.
Seattle University of Washington Press.
(Original work published 1945)
Acknowledgements Hyshqe to Charlotte Clausing
(Northwest Indian College NWIC), Dr. Marco
Hatch (Director of the National Indian Center for
Marine Environmental Research and Education
NICMERE), and David Given-Seymour (NWIC
consultant) James R. Freed (Washington State
University Extension) Ane Barrett and Nicole
Jefferson (NWIC Indigenous Service Learning) the
United States Department of Agriculture National
Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) and
Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy (Director of NIFA) Rebecca
Saxton, MFA (NWIC Science Writing Mentor) and
Renae Stanley (for the image of Prosartes
hookeri, Hooker fairy-bell).

• Methods
• Literature review (Bateman, Meyers, Russell,
  2003 Crawford, 2010 Gunther, 1981 Kruckeberg,
  1991 Moerman, 2003 Mithun, 2004 Moerman, 2003
  and Northwest Indian College, 2002) and archival
  research (Lummi Archives).
• Botanical survey of the Kwina Woods, cedar grove
  and other NWIC Lummi campus landscape plants
  (Figures 3, 4, and 5).
• Identification of vascular plant specimens using
  standard field guide and taxonomic references
  (PLANTS database, 2014 Pojar MacKinnon,
  1994/2004 and UW Herbarium at the Burke, 2014).
• Research on Pacific lowland forests, forest
  gardens, and associated plants and methods (e.g.,
  hüglekultur).
• Individual student intern research topics within
  the context of the broader project.
• Collaboration with NWIC Indigenous Service
  Learning.

• Results
• The Past
• Two generations ago, tribal culture was still
  inextricably intertwined with the sustainable use
  of natural resources.
• Coast Salish knowledge of plants and their
  cultural roles was widespread.
• Age-old traditional harvest and management
  practices supported sustainable interactions with
  the environment.
• Local lowland forests contained numerous native
  and culturally significant vascular plants.
• The Present
• Culturally significant plants are often scattered
  in patchwork mosaics next to roads or
  developments and are subjected to many threats,
  such as mowing, pollution, herbicide application,
  and other barriers to their safe and culturally
  appropriate use.
• Current management systems are in stark contrast
  to the sustainable indigenous activities that
  took place for thousands of years.
• The Plants and People of This Place
• Initial focus on the plants of cultural
  significance to the Lummi within the Pacific
  lowland forests of the Western Hemlock Zone.
• The forests are characterized in part by the
  presence of at least 177 vascular plant species
  (152 native and 25 introduced species), including
  37 taxa with documented cultural roles amongst
  the Lummi (Kruckeberg, 1991 and Moerman, 2003).
• The Kwina Woods are known to contain at least 29
  native and one introduced species, including 13
  Lummi ethnobotanical taxa.
• The cedar grove contains 26 native species, 20
  introduced species and eight Lummi ethnobotanical
  taxa.