ES 321 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Eulachon, Aklavik, Rubus Spectabilis
26 Apr 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Place names and oral tradition encode many kinds of knowledge: historical, political, ethical, spiritual, ecological. Knowledge of phenology (study of seasonal timing of prominent life cycles) imbedded in la(cid:374)guage. Also eula(cid:272)ho(cid:374) (cid:858)ca(cid:374)dle fish(cid:859) = ooli(cid:272)ha(cid:374) grease rendered from these fish is a large part of the economy; used to be used as currency. Oweekeno word for april translates to eulachon moon. Haisla word for march translates to the month when the eulachon come. There is wealth of knowledge embedded in place names, language and traditional narratives. Groups would travel along peel river via moose-skin boats. Along challenging parts of the river, most passengers would disembark and walk the trail alongside the river and most skilled navigator would take boat through rough section. Ecological knowledge in landscape terminology: it is tempting to draw parallels to the organization of western ecological knowledge. They are not analogous tek have a much more descriptive name.
