Date: Monday, November 4th

Time: 7:30 PM

Location: Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History

Speaker: Jonathan Ferrier
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology, Dalhousie University

Title: Ethnobiology of Northeastern Turtle Island Food, Medicine, & Material Security

Food, Medicine, and material culture is related. Securing access requires a respect for the natural laws of the environment.

With examples from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Mi’kmaq First Nation, and global indigenous nations we can observe how indigenous peoples are natural leaders for achieving ecological balance. Indigenous spirituality and ecological ways of knowing contain solutions for climate change and local food, medicine, and material security.

With ethnobiology we awaken native linguistic knowledge and traditions in medicine, food and design laid dormant by colonization. Native languages carefully describe our holistic roles on the land while acknowledging all our relations – water, plants medicines, fish, flyers, crawlers and their importance to all.