Biocultural Design: Harvesting Manomin with Wabaseemoong Independent Nations

  • Valeria Kuzivanova Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
  • Iain J. Davidson-Hunt Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.8.1.2017.794
Keywords: Biocultural restoration, Wild rice, Ethnobotany, Anishinaabeg, Canada

Abstract

This essay describes how biocultural design (BD) was utilized to develop a manomin (wild rice, Zizania palustris) harvest camp and the prospect of this approach to implement the principles reflected in recent calls for an Ethnobiology V. In this case, BD brought together knowledge, practices, and innovation within an intentional process of co-design to respond to the specific community aspirations of restoring relationships with manomin. The paper provides an overview of the benefits and challenges of using the practice of BD to re-establish wild rice harvesting. The information presented here is part of a larger initiative to restore manomin habitats, harvest practices, and consumption being undertaken by Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, Northwestern Ontario, Canada.

Author Biographies

Valeria Kuzivanova, Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Valeria Kuzivanova is an environmental consultant with interests in traditional ecological knowledge, biocultural diversity, traditional foods, and participatory action research.

Iain J. Davidson-Hunt, Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Iain J. Davidson-Hunt is a Professor at the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Manitoba, member of the Canadian Institute of Planners, and co-chair of the People in Nature Knowledge Basket of IUCN.

References

Apgar, J. M., J. M. Ataria, and W. J. Allen. 2011. Managing beyond Designations: Supporting Endogenous Processes for Nurturing Biocultural Development. International Journal of Heritage Studies 17:555–570. DOI:10.1080/13527258.2011.618250.

Beaucage, P., and Taller de Tradición oral del Cepec. 1997. Integrating Innovation: The Traditional Nahua Coffee-Orchard (Sierra Norte de Puebla, Mexico). Journal of Ethnobiology 17:45–67.

Berkes, F. 2012. Sacred Ecology, 3rd edition. Routledge, New York, NY.

Brown, T. 2009. Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation. Harper Collins Publishers, New York, NY.

Buchanan, R. 1992. Wicked Problems in Design Thinking. Design Issues 8:5–21.

Burkett, I. 2014. An Introduction to Co-Design [web page]. Available at: http://www.design4socialinnovation.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/An-Introduction-to-Co-Design-by-Ingrid-Burkett.pdf. Accessed on December 12, 2015.

Davidson-Hunt, I. J. 2003. Indigenous Lands Management, Cultural Landscapes and Anishinaabe People of Shoal Lake, Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Environments 31:21–41.

Davidson-Hunt, I. J., K. L. Turner, A. T. Pareake Mead, J. Cabrera-Lopez, R. Bolton, C. J. Idrobo, I. Miretski, A. Morrison, and J. P. Robson. 2012. Biocultural Design: A New Conceptual Framework for Sustainable Development in Rural Indigenous and Local Communities. S.A.P.I.EN.S. Surveys and Perspectives Integrating Environment and Society 5:33–45. Available at: http://sapiens.revues.org/1382. Accessed on December 1, 2013.

Escobar, A. 2011. Sustainability: Design for the Pluriverse. Development 54:137–140.

Gavin, M. C., J. McCarter, A. Mead, F. Berkes, J. R. Stepp, D. Peterson, and R. Tang. 2015. Defining Biocultural Approaches to Conservation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 30:140–145. DOI:10.1016/j.tree.2014.12.005.

Higgs, E. S. 2003. Nature by Design: People, Natural Processes, and Ecological Restoration. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, Cambridge, MA.

Higgs, E. S., and R. J. Hobbs. 2010. Wild Design: Principles to Guide Interventions in Protected Areas. In Beyond Naturalness: Rethinking Parks and Wilderness Stewardship in an Era of Rapid Change, edited by D. N. Cole and L. Yung, pp. 234–251. Island Press, Washington, DC.

Hunn, E. 2014. To Know Them Is to Love Them. Ethnobiology Letters 5:146–150. DOI:10.14237/ebl.5.2014.297.

IDEO. 2009. Human-Centered Design Toolkit, 2nd edition. IDEO, San Francisco, CA.

Ingold, T. 2013. Making: Anthropology, Archaeology, Art and Architecture. Routledge, London, United Kingdom, and New York, NY.

Janzen, D. H. 1988. Tropical Ecological and Biocultural Restoration. Science 239:243–244.

Kimmerer, R. 2011. Restoration and Reciprocity: The Contributions of Traditional Ecological Knowledge. In Human Dimensions of Ecological Restoration: Integrating Science, Nature, and Culture, edited by D. Egan, E. E. Hjerpe, and J. Abrams, pp. 257–276. Island Press, Washington, DC.

Kuzivanova, V. 2016. Restoring Manomin (Wild Rice): A Case Study with Wabaseemoong Independent Nations. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada. Available at: https://umanitoba.ca/institutes/natural_resources/pdf/theses/Kuzivanova,%20Valeria.MRNM%202015.pdf. Accessed on June 20, 2016.

Martinez, D. 2003. Protected Areas, Indigenous Peoples, and the Western Idea of Nature. Ecological Restoration 21:247-250. Available at: https://www.ser.org/docs/default-document-library/protected-areas-indigenous-peoples-and-the-western-idea-of-nature.pdf?sfvrsn=0. Accessed on April 20, 2014.

Nabhan, G. P., D. Walker, and A. M. Moreno. 2010. Biocultural and Ecogastronomic Restoration: The Renewing America’s Food Traditions Alliance. Ecological Restoration 28:266-279. Available at: http://www.albc-usa.org/RAFT/images/Resources/Biocultural_and_Ecogastronomic_Restoration.pdf. Accessed on March 25, 2014.

Nabhan, G. P., F. Wyndham, and D. Lepofsky. 2011. Ethnobiology for a Diverse World: Ethnobiology Emerging from a Time of Crisis. Journal of Ethnobiology 31:172–175. DOI:10.2993/0278-0771-31.2.172.

Oosterlaken, I. 2009. Design for Development: A Capability Approach. Design Issues 25:91–102.

Posey, D. A., J. Frechione, J. Eddins, and L. F. da Silva. 1984. Ethnoecology as Applied Anthropology in Amazonian Development. Human Organization 43:95–107.

Rabinow, P., G. E. Marcus, J. D. Faubion, and T. Rees. 2008. Designs for an Anthropology of the Contemporary. Duke University Press, Durham, NC.

Reid, M. G., C. Hamilton, S. K. Reid, W. Trousdale, C. Hill, N. Turner, C. R. Picard, C. Lamontagne, and H. D. Matthews. 2014. Indigenous Climate Change Adaptation Planning Using a Values-Focused Approach: A Case Study with the Gitga'at Nation. Journal of Ethnobiology 34:401–424.

Sen, A. 1999. Development as Freedom. Random House, New York, NY.

Swiderska, K. 2006. Protecting Traditional Knowledge: A Framework Based on Customary Laws and Bio-Cultural Heritage Sustainable Agriculture, Biodiversity and Livelihoods Programme. Paper presented at the International Conference on Endogenous Development and Bio-Cultural Diversity. Geneva, Switzerland. Available at: http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G01069.pdf. Accessed on January 5, 2014.

Wabaseemoong Wild Rice Project. 2015. This 9 Minute Video is from Last Year, Thank You to the People Who Produced It Valeria and Anastasia, and the People in the Video, Thank You Iian [Facebook post]. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/Wabaseemoong-Wild-Rice-Project-674480755940362/?fref=ts. Accessed on December 23, 2016.

Wolverton, S. 2013. Ethnobiology 5: Interdisciplinarity in an Era of Rapid Environmental Change. Ethnobiology Letters 4:21–25. DOI:10.14237/ebl.4.2013.11.

Wyndham, F. S., D. Lepofsky, and S. Tiffany. 2011. Taking Stock in Ethnobiology: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? Journal of Ethnobiology 31:110–127. DOI:10.2993/0278-0771-31.1.110.

Ethnobiology Letters Cover, Volume 8, Issue 1, 2017
Published
2017-04-19
How to Cite
Kuzivanova, V., & Davidson-Hunt, I. J. (2017). Biocultural Design: Harvesting Manomin with Wabaseemoong Independent Nations. Ethnobiology Letters, 8(1), 23–30. https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.8.1.2017.794
Issue
Vol 8 No 1 (2017)
Section
Perspectives

Copyright (c) 2017 Valeria Kuzivanova, Iain Davidson-Hunt

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain ownership of the copyright for their content and grant Ethnobiology Letters (the “Journal”) and the Society of Ethnobiology right of first publication. Authors and the Journal agree that Ethnobiology Letters will publish the article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits others to use, distribute, and reproduce the work non-commercially, provided the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal are properly cited.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

For any reuse or redistribution of a work, users must make clear the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

In publishing with Ethnobiology Letters corresponding authors certify that they are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements. They warrant, on behalf of themselves and their co-authors, that the content is original, has not been formally published, is not under consideration, and does not infringe any existing copyright or any other third party rights. They further warrant that the material contains no matter that is scandalous, obscene, libelous, or otherwise contrary to the law.

Corresponding authors will be given an opportunity to read and correct edited proofs, but if they fail to return such corrections by the date set by the editors, production and publication may proceed without the authors’ approval of the edited proofs.