Encountering the Kalapuyans 1841: George Emmons
Journal of Lieutenant George Foster Emmons[1] (Officer of the Peacock) August 7, 1841-The country becoming smoky from the annual fires of the Indians- who burn
Tag: ethnobotany
Salem Wapato Trek July 12 2024
This day, Friday I planned to have a number of individuals join me to visit two sites in around Salem. Lake Labish in the morning
Indian Baskets as Social Currency
This basket was given to the Mission Mill Museum in the 1970s, probably 1974, by the McGilchrist family, they gifted a collection which was then
Minto-Brown Park Wapato Treks
The camas season seems done, very early this year, the flowers now turned to seeds already. I have seeds from the pods in my yard
Wapato Trek at Wallace Marine Park
Wapato (Sagittaria latifolia) (mamptu-Kalapuyan) is on the rise in the Salem area. Three sites are known to host the plant, Lake Labish, Minto-Brown Island Park
Wapato Treks at Labish
Wapato (mamptu- Kalapuyan) is a primary root crop of the Kalapuyans and Chinookans. It was probably the second most used food plant in the valley.
Camas Season March 23, 2024
Some just asked me if I can see the camas tips now, to which I replied: Meaning, Yes! Camas is doing well at Minto-Brown, the
Camas Season 2024
This season looks to be a good camas season, plenty of moisture this winter should equate to fatter bulbs. We will see. But I was
The Wild Pantry
Plants and Their Stories Finally, it’s time. As a team we have arrived in Cambodia—a geographer and an anthropologist embarking on a journey that we have joyfully planned…
Seasonal Lifeways of the Tualatin
The Tualatin Plains The Tualatin Plains was a vast oak savanna. From General Land Office survey field notes there was noted a large number of oaks and oak…
Camas Journal 2023: Baby Camas, Mowing, Cultural Fire
This year I tried to get out there into the field when the camas is beginning to erupt from the ground. I am not sure I have seen…
Reconstructing the Willamette Valley Camas Swales
In recent work I have begun to document the various wetlands of the Willamette Valley from before settler changes took effect. Our best, and most
Museum Anthropology Review Volume 16: Studies in Museum Ethnography in Honor of Daniel C. Swan
Social media is changing again and it seems like a good time to give Shreds and Patches more love and attention. My collaborator and special issue co-editor Michael…
Teasel Adventure
The European Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) was brought to Oregon in the 19th century. It is a hugely invasive plant that has a habit of taking over large areas…
Camas and Micro-seasonality at Minto-Brown Park
We all are aware of the annual seasons, winter, spring, summer, and fall, but in the growing cycle of the plants of the Willamette Valley there are micro-seasons…
Seasonal Wetlands and Minto-Brown Island Park
It seems important to tribes that if they are truly to become restored, and decolonized, they need to be culturally restored by helping to decolonize their lands and…
Camas Journal, May 10, 2022 Minto-Brown Park
Visited again Minto-Brown park to see all of the camas fields. That field near the city has at this time a very thin population of camas, it seems…
Camas Journal, May 8, 2022
I returned today to Bush Park to take in the middle prairie and see how things are going. The weather has scattered spring rains all day. This year…
Joryville Park May 5, 2022
I recently heard about another park I had not been to in Salem, Joryville Park. I went assuming it would be mostly grassland but was surprised that this…
Camas Journal May 2, 2022
I revisited Bush Park today to tour the other areas of camas. I began at the “Picnic” area, south side of the park at its upper level and…
Camas Journal, May 1, 2022
Today, I visited three camas areas in Salem. They present different characters and interesting contexts this spring. As I left the fields I noticed splotches of yellow on…
The Mind of Plants: Book launch by Synergetic Press on December 15
–Synergetic Press has just released The Mind of Plants: Narratives of Vegetal Intelligence, edited by John C. Ryan, Patricia Vieira and Monica Gagliano, and with a foreword by D…
Unlikely Blessings: A poem on hope, despair and periwinkle
This poem, written fifteen years ago as my youngest son began (thankfully successful) chemotherapy for a rare immune system disease, was recently published for the first time by S…
Fifty Shades of Green: Reflecting back on the Oscar-nominated film Embrace of the Serpent in the age of coronavirus [excerpt]
The tragic death from coronavirus of indigenous actor Antonio Bolivar, star of the Oscar-nominated film Embrace of the Serpent, has made me reflect back on all the facts…