How To Be A Good Relative To The Plant Nations
with Catawba Nation Ethnnobotanist and activist, Linda Black Elk.
In the Western world, “family” often refers to the connection between people who are bonded by blood. For many Indigenous peoples, however, these relationships are universal and we do not discriminate between lifeforms. We are literally related to the Plant Nations, and it is these relationships that sustain us and provide sacred protocols for us to follow. Now, these critical connections are under threat. How can we be good relatives in a world that often forgets to honor its first Mother? In this talk Linda will share her Lakota medicine teachings about our connection to the plants.
- Learn about traditional Lakota plant protocols.
- Discover how modern botany can be blended with ethnobotony for a deeper understanding of plants.
- Listen to stories from Linda's elders.
- Hear about the First Nation protest at Standing Rock
The 5th video in the Plant Consciousness Series.
We recommend watching the videos in order, to take the journey of the programme.
Linda Black Elk
Linda Black Elk (Catawba First Nation) is an ethnobotanist specializing in teaching about culturally important plants and their uses as food and medicine. Linda works to build curriculum and ways of thinking that will promote and protect food sovereignty, traditional plant knowledge, and environmental quality as an extension of the fight against hydraulic fracturing and the fossil fuels industry. She has written for numerous publications, and is the author of “Watoto Unyutapi”, a field guide to edible wild plants of the Dakota people. Linda is the mother to three Hunkpapa Lakota boys and is a lecturer at Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates, North Dakota. Linda also serves as the Director of Traditional Medicine at the Mni Wiconi Clinic, which is a fully integrative clinic focusing on decolonized medicine at the Standing Rock Reservation.
| Release Date | |
| Duration | 43 mins |
| Language | |
| Support Devices | Plays on all browsers with Flash installed. Plays on Apple mobile devices |