Published In
Professional Geographer
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2002
Subjects
Ethnographic study
Abstract
The indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America are widely believed to have been true “hunter-fisher-gatherers,” lacking plant cultivation of any kind. This depiction of the region's indigenous inhabitants emerged within early colonial accounts and was perpetuated within the literatures of geography, anthropology, and archaeology. Still, there is ample evidence of plant cultivation available from archival, archaeological, and ethnographic sources. In particular, the peoples of coastal British Columbia created large gardens of edible estuarine plants, using sophisticated indigenous technologies. The oversight of these practices in written representations of the region reveals consistent patterns of bias, emanating from the agendas of colonial agents and early academics alike. In turn, this bias has undermined aboriginal traditions of cultivation and indigenous land claims.
Rights
© Copyright 2002 by Association of American Geographers.
DOI
10.1111/0033-0124.00322
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42426
Citation Details
Douglas Deur (2002) Rethinking Precolonial Plant Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America, The Professional Geographer, 54:2, 140-157
Description
PSU Professor Douglas Deur received the Association of American Geographers’ Warren J. Nystrom Award for this article. At the time of publication Professor Deur was affiliated with the University of Reno.