| Aboriginal people have close and long-standing relationships with the environment. Plants were, and still are, important for food, medicine, and cultural purposes. This research was a collaborative project between Tl'azt'en Nation and the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). The study was conducted to collect TEK about the ecology of food and medicine plant gathering sites, to gain an understanding of the criteria for gathering traditional plants, to understand why traditional gathering sites may fallout of use, and to provide information for a framework for the protection measures that will be necessary for the continuation of plant gathering and sites. Information was gathered in meetings, focus groups, interviews, and field sessions. Tl'azt'enne gather plants from undisturbed areas within their traditional territory. Tl'azt'enne community members possess a deep understanding of plants and their gathering sites and have many concerns including the loss of TEK, changing landscapes, and disturbances. |
