common bearberry, Photo credit: Jennifer Berger, UWinnipeg Biology Student
Crystal Brown
This past summer students had the opportunity to do a field school in ethnobotany*, which included class work on campus and four days of experiential learning off campus at Keeseekowenin First Nations, near Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba.
The course was led by Dr. Shailesh Shukla, Assistant Professor (Department of Indigenous Studies), and herbalists and Indigenous Elders were also part of the course.
“The course is unique in that it is the only Ethnobotany field course offered in Manitoba,” explained Shukla. “This course creates a synergistic platform where scientific knowledge (botanical knowledge of plants) and indigenous knowledge (medicinal plant knowledge of Keeseekoowenin First Nations) of elders are engaged in mutually enriching and respectful relationships.”
Students learned to value both knowledge systems which helped them to develop respect and recognition of traditional medicinal plant knowledge. In four days, students from a variety of disciplines could identify 50 different plants, learned their basic botanical characteristics and medicinal usages described by elders as well as what is reported in ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological literature.
Chloe McCorrister
“I took Ethnobotany because I was interested in learning about the relationship Indigenous peoples have with plants,” expressed Crystal Brown, UWinnipeg fourth year student in Indigenous Studies. “I also wanted to reconnect with that traditional knowledge and learn about the medicinal and healing qualities that these plants offer. I was also interested in the field course aspect learning within a First Nation community.”
“I enjoyed every aspect of the course,” said UWinnipeg student Chloe McCorrister who is in Business and Administration and working on a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Studies. “The experience at Medicine Eagle Lodge enabled me to understand and develop my personal relationship and connection with Mother Earth which, in turn, left me feeling better connected to myself at the end of the course, which I will always treasure.”
For more information on this course please visit Indigenous Studies.
*Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between peoples and plants.
