Abstract Detail

Society for Economic Botany/BSA Economic Botany Section

Walker, Karen [1].

Honoring Those Who Came Before: Native American Ethnobotany at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

For centuries, the Lakota and Dakota (Sioux) People have accumulated knowledge about their environment. Within this realm of knowledge they have developed skills in using plants that grow around them for food, medicine, building materials and clothing. For generations this knowledge was passed from one family to the next through oral traditions of story telling, songs, and teachings. Much of their traditional knowledge is still being passed on today but there is an overwhelming potential for this knowledge to be lost in our modern society. Many elders and tribal members are working to preserve TEK, as well as incorporating this knowledge into community, health, and education programs. The Missouri Botanical Garden is collaborating with the Crow Creek and Standing Rock Indian Reservations in South and North Dakota to promote the preservation and use of traditional ecological knowledge.

Broader Impacts:

1 - Missouri Botanical Garden, William L. Brown Center, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO, 63166, USA

Keywords:
Lakota People
Dakota People
ethnobotany
Native American
Sioux
South Dakota
North Dakota.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 22
Location: Maryland Room/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
Time: 5:00 PM
Number: 22006
Abstract ID:660