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Nature Environmental Conservation & Protection

The Earth's Blanket

Traditional Teachings for Sustainable Living

by (author) Nancy J. Turner

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.

Nancy J. Turner's profile page

Editorial Reviews

"A work of environmental anthropology that is critical for our times."

Boulevard Magazine

"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

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.