Traditional Lifeways and Storytelling: Tools for Adaptation and Resilience to Ecosystem Change

We collected data through three focus groups conducted with Wabanaki citizens (members of the Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Maliseet, and Micmac Nations) residing in Maine, USA, and the Canadian Maritime region. These sessions used a collective storytelling and discussion approach consisten...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human ecology : an interdisciplinary journal 2019-10, Vol.47 (5), p.777-784
Main Authors: Daigle, John J., Michelle, Natalie, Ranco, Darren J., Emery, Marla R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Anthropology
Berries
Citizens
Climate change
Cultural tradition
Data collection
Dependence
Ecosystems
Environmental aspects
Environmental changes
Environmental Management
Fishing
Fragaria ananassa
Fruits
Geography
Matteuccia struthiopteris
Native North Americans
Natural resources
Odocoileus virginianus
RESEARCH REPORTS
Resilience
Rubus allegheniensis
Rubus canadensis
Seafood
Social Sciences
Sociology
Storytelling
Strawberries
Traditions
Vulnerability
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Summary:We collected data through three focus groups conducted with Wabanaki citizens (members of the Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Maliseet, and Micmac Nations) residing in Maine, USA, and the Canadian Maritime region. These sessions used a collective storytelling and discussion approach consistent with Wabanaki cultural practices to explore environmental knowledge, information on environmental change, and its impact on traditional lifeways (TLW) over time. Wild foods such as fiddleheads (Matteucia strutiopteris (L.) Tod.), berries such as blackberries (Rubus allegheniensis & R. Canadensis) and strawberries (Fragaria x ananasa), deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman), fish, and seafood provide not only physical nourishment, but also cultural connections through storytelling, harvesting, processing, and sharing of resources. It is this strong and multifaceted dependence on natural resources and systems that makes Wabanaki citizens particularly "vulnerable" to climate change, but also potentially resilient because of stories and other cultural traditions that help process and understand environmental change. We suggest storytelling continues to remain relevant as a way to connect the generations and for continued adaptation to ecosystem change and sustaining traditions.
ISSN:0300-7839
1572-9915
DOI:10.1007/s10745-019-00113-8