Title

Ocean Cultures: Northwest Coast Ecosystems and Indigenous Management Systems

Description

Increasingly, ethnoecologists, anthropologists, and conservation biologists are recognizing that Indigenous People of the Northwest Coast and neighboring regions have been astute stewards and managers—not just harvesters and consumers—of the resources and ecosystems on which they have relied. Over thousands of years, these people have developed diverse practices and protocols that have not only sustained, but enhanced the resource species both in quantity and in quality. These practices are based on long-term observation and experience, and are embedded in belief systems, ceremonies, dances, art, and narratives. Here we provide an overview of marine and coastal resource management systems that have been documented to date, and then cite three examples in more detail: clam gardens, salmon production, and estuarine root gardens. These different production systems do not function alone but are components of an entire complex of land and resource management extending across the marine and terrestrial landscapes, “from ocean bottom to mountaintop.” These traditional management systems have been seriously disrupted since the arrival of European newcomers and the resulting impacts on key habitats from colonial settlement, land encroachment, changes in land tenure, land-use conversion, and industrial scale exploitation. Today, collaborative efforts between Indigenous communities, ethnoecologists, and others are underway to recognize and restore some of these critically important Indigenous production systems and associated practices as a means of ethnoecological restoration, habitat enhancement, and food system revitalization.

Creator

Darcy Mathews

Nancy Turner

Is Part Of

Conservation for the Anthropocene Ocean: Interdisciplinary Science in Support of Nature and People

The State of the Salish SeaSee all items with this value

Publisher

Academic Press

Date

2017

pages

169-199

short title

Ocean Cultures

doi

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-805375-1.00009-X

Spatial Coverage

Specific to Indigenous Nation(s) in the Salish Sea region

Temporal Coverage

Since Time Immemorial

Present