Boreal Plants That Enchant A Lively Ethnography of Sakâwiyiniwak (Northern Bush Cree) Multispecies Kinship Obligations

• Published in: Environmental humanities Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 385 - 400
• Main Author: Baker, Janelle Marie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Durham Duke University Press 01.07.2022; Duke University Press, NC & IL
• Subjects: Appreciation; Cree people; Cultural Studies; Ecosystems; Environmental Studies; Ethnographic research; Ethnography; Extraction; Friendship; Kinship; Medicinal plants; Older people; Science and Technology Studies; Settlers; Tea; Treaties; multispecies; Indigenous; enchantment; boreal forest; kinship
• ISSN: 2201-1919; 2201-1919
• DOI: 10.1215/22011919-9712467

This article describes moments of plant-induced enchantment during community-based environmental monitoring and ethnographic research in Treaty No. 8 territories. These multispecies ethnographic encounters while collaborating with Elders and friends from Fort McKay First Nation and Bigstone Cree Nation describe how ecological care is rooted in kinship. Moments of enchantment, or intense moments of noticing and “plant-thinking,” inspire new appreciation of the boreal forest and the many familiar plants that grow within it, illuminating the magic of muskeg tea, frog’s pants, and aspen. Written in the style of lively ethnography, this article focuses on plants of ceremonial, nutritional, and medicinal use. These plants are often overlooked or are described as nuisance weeds, despite being indigenous plants, by settlers whose decisions and natural resource extraction activities have a direct effect on the survival and well-being of these plants and larger ecosystems. Enchantment brings attention to the deep-seated settler biases against certain types of plants that are common or abundant or, more specifically, not of current commercial value.