Recognition and revitalization of ecocultural landscapes: Indigenous plant management throughout space and time

Abstract

Indigenous Peoples of coastal British Columbia have co-evolved with the temperate rainforest ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest for millennia, cultivating ecocultural landscapes through sophisticated plant management practices grounded in relational worldviews. This thesis explores the historical and ongoing role of Indigenous plant stewardship in shaping biodiversity, ecosystem function, and cultural resilience. Drawing on ecological, archaeological, and ethnobotanical data—as well as community-engaged research with Indigenous Nations—this work highlights the diversity of management systems, from clam gardens to orchards of Pacific crabapple (Malus fusca). Recognizing the negative effects colonial disruptions have had on these systems, I examine how Indigenous-led restoration revitalizes both degraded landscapes and intergenerational knowledge systems and outline the potential for Indigenous-led restoration to influence broader conservation and social justice goals. Through an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach, this research contributes to the recognition, recovery, and renewal of ecocultural landscapes in an effort to support Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination through land stewardship.