| The Gitksan are a Northwest Coast people who live in the drainage of the Skeena River in Northwestern British Columbia, Canada. This dissertation is an examination of the traditional plant uses of the Gitksan, especially for foods and medicines. I have framed the inquiry into Gitksan use of plants for medicines and foods in the broader context of Gitksan notions of wellness, illness, and the place of humans in the world, and in terms of phytochemistry, pharmacology and nutrient values as understood by Western science.;Gitksan ethnoecology differs from scientific classification, and resource knowledge seems to be keyed to specific sites on traditional territories.;A composite picture of Gitksan plant use in the period from the mid-19th century to recent decades, including use of plants for foods, medicines, technology, ritual, and in traditional narrative, is presented.;Gitksan plant classification is roughly hierarchical. "Life forms" with a number of subordinate types include trees; 'plants'; and berry plants. Grass or hay; 'leaves', or herbaceous plants; 'flowers'; moss; and fungi; are residual taxa. Eighty-nine distinct generics have been documented. A mixture of morphologic and utilitarian characters seem to underlie the system of plant classification.;For the Gitksan health is seen holistically, and is a consequence of a balanced and disciplined life and respect for other entities. Disease results from a lack of balance, or from the malevolent actions of other people or spirits. Cleansing and restoration of balance are important indigenous healing concepts. Halayt formerly healed disease which had a spiritual causation, while many ailments were treated with herbal remedies.;I have used the methodology of Browner et al. (1988) and consensus analysis to evaluate the likely empirical efficacy of Gitksan medicinal plant uses from a physiological perspective. Thirty-four of thirty-seven medicinal plants were used by at least one other indigenous group. Uses of eleven of 37 medicinal plants were supported by phytochemical data and bioassays; of these, seven were those most frequently mentioned by Gitksan people.;Limitations of biobehavioural analysis include incommensurability of Gitksan and biomedical concepts, and the difficulty of dealing with spiritual factors in biobehavioural analysis. |
