People will see the flower and say, “Here is the silver of our mother’s hair upon the ground and the rose from the wings of the spirit bird. Our mother’s tears of bitterness have given us food.” *
Before the dig could begin en masse, a single bitterroot was dug and blessed. . . . ‘The first one that usually gets dug out of the ground, we talk to that bitterroot just like it's a human being because it's our first visitor and we thank that bitterroot for being here again for us," said Charlie Quequesah. [And] thus continued the connection between nature and generations of Indian people.†
Jocelyn and Bradley are joined this week by ethnobotanist and Salish scientist Rose Bear Don’t Walk, who shares her journey from growing up on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana to earning a political science degree at Yale, and then returning to Montana to study environmental science. Through these diverse experiences, Rose has nurtured a passion for social and environmental justice. She has also realized that, for many indigenous communities, recovering traditional ecological knowledge of plants is a key element in preserving culture and improving health. Rose discusses how her Bitterroot Salish and Crow heritage inform her scientific identity and practices, and she describes her current project to promote food sovereignty among her own Salish people by supporting healthy, culturally-relevant food practices in her community. The friends also discuss the ancient and powerful idea of food as medicine—for the mind, body, and spirit.
*The Gift of the Bitterroot, as told by Johnny Arlee: https://www.lessonsofourland.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Gift-of-the-Bitterroot.pdf
†“Salish, Pend d'Oreille tribal members gather bitterroots to honor family, tradition”: https://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/lake_county/salish-pend-doreille-tribal-members-gather-bitterroots-to-honor-family-tradition/article_abbf108a-714c-11e0-a345-001cc4c002e0.html
Follow Rose on Twitter at @rosedontwalk, and learn more about her amazing work at the links below!
https://500womenscientists.org/updates/2020/8/1/an-ethnobotanist-the-plants-of-her-people
https://www.umt.edu/news/2020/01/011320know.php
https://missoulian.com/news/local/university-of-montana-grad-wins-fellowship-for-the-future/article_5175cb31-f333-5a7b-be9d-4338f3c9c499.html
Summit on Culturally Competent Conversations for Equity and Belongingness: https://youtu.be/-twfH3_XfE8
Stories for Action podcast: https://youtu.be/P27Gm8KY5Ec
Recovering our Roots: The Importance of Salish Ethnobotanical Knowledge and Traditional Food Systems to Community Wellbeing on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/11494/
Rose powwow dancing! https://youtu.be/gjLMDl_FzHw
SciShow: https://www.youtube.com/user/scishow