Nature Environmental Conservation & Protection
The Earth's Blanket
Traditional Teachings for Sustainable Living
- Publisher
- Douglas & McIntyre
- Initial publish date
- May 2007
- Category
- Environmental Conservation & Protection, Native American Studies
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781553651802
- Publish Date
- May 2007
- List Price
- $24.95
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9780295984742
- Publish Date
- Feb 2005
- List Price
- $135.00
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780295987392
- Publish Date
- Jan 2008
- List Price
- $41.00
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Description
Renowned ethnobotanist Nancy Turner distills in this volume her decades of experience working with First Nations in the Pacific Northwest. The Earth's Blanket explores the wealth of ecological knowledge and the deep personal connection to the land and its history that is encoded in indigenous stories and lifeways, and what they may be able to teach all of us about living in harmony with our surroundings.
Scholarly in its thinking but accessible in its writing, The Earth's Blanket combines first-person research with insightful critiques of Western concepts of environmental management and scientific ecology to propose how systems of traditional ecological knowledge can be recognized and enhanced. It is an important book, a magnum opus, with the power to transform our way of thinking about the Earth and our place within it.
About the author
Nancy J. Turner is an ethnobotanist, and Distinguished Professor Emerita, School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Canada. She has worked with First Nations elders and cultural specialists in northwestern North America for over 50 years, helping to document, retain and promote their traditional knowledge of plants and environments, including Indigenous foods, materials and traditional medicines. Her two-volume book, Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge (July, 2014; McGill-Queen’s University Press), integrates her long term research. She has authored or co-authored/co-edited 30 other books, including: Plants of Haida Gwaii; The Earth’s Blanket; “Keeping It Living” (with Doug Deur); Saanich Ethnobotany (with Richard Hebda), and Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples, and over 150 book chapters and papers. Her latest edited book is Plants, People and Places: the Roles of Ethnobotany and Ethnoecology in Indigenous Peoples’ Land Rights in Canada and Beyond (2020). She has received a number of awards for her work, including membership in Order of British Columbia (1999) and the Order of Canada (2009), honorary degrees from University of British Columbia, University of Northern British Columbia and Vancouver Island and Simon Fraser Universities.
Editorial Reviews
"Scholarly in its thinking but accessible in its writing, The Earth's Blanket combines first-person research with insightful critiques of Western concepts of environmental management...and has the power to transform our way of thinking about Earth and our place on it."
Branches of Light
"[Turner's] writing is as accessible as it is fluid, and the book functions almost as an academic narrative...The Earth's Blanket is a journey through cultural history and will undoubtedly inspire all who read it. First Nations culture is rich with connections to the land and provides a blueprint for sustainability that must become central to the way we see our world...[Turner] shows how concepts of wealth and value must change -- not only for the Earth to survive, but for people to regain a sense of place and community."
Martlet: UVic's Independent Newspaper
"A work of environmental anthropology that is critical for our times."
Boulevard Magazine
Librarian Reviews
The Earth’s Blanket: Traditional Teachings for Sustainable Living
Ethnobotanist Turner debunks the belief that Aboriginal peoples did not use or tend the lands that they traditionally inhabited. Through myths, Elders’ knowledge and oral history, she shows how the Aboriginal people cultivated their lands. She documents their traditional food sources and sustainable resource use. Aboriginal peoples encouraged the growth of plant resources by techniques such as burning, pruning and using natural fertilizers. They maintained streams and shorelines to enhance fisheries. Turner examines ways that traditional and modern methods are being used in damaged ecosystems.Turner won The Order of BC for her contributions in documenting the endangered knowledge of Aboriginal people. She wrote Plants of the Haida Gwaii.
Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. Canadian Aboriginal Books for Schools. 2007-2008.
Other titles by
Foraging as a Way of Life
A Year-Round Field Guide to Wild Plants
Luschiim’s Plants
Traditional Indigenous Foods, Materials and Medicines
Plants of Haida Gwaii
Third Edition
Deep and Sheltered Waters
The History of Tod Inlet
Plants, People, and Places
The Roles of Ethnobotany and Ethnoecology in Indigenous Peoples' Land Rights in Canada and Beyond
Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge
Ethnobotany and Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America
Food Plants of Interior First Peoples
Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples
Keeping It Living
Traditions of Plant Use and Cultivation on Northwest Coast of North America
Saanich Ethnobotany
Culturally Important Plants of the Wsánec People