Increasing access and availability of the culturally-significant sweetgrass for Mi'kmaq communities

增加 Mikmaq 社区对具有文化意义的甜草的获取和供应

• 批准号: 560939-2021
• 负责人: Joseph, Alain
• 金额: $ 8.74万
• 依托单位: Nova Scotia Community College
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: College & Community Social Innovation Fund
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=723955
• 关键词: Increasing; access; availability; culturally; significant

Sweetgrass (welimaqewel in Mi'kmaw) is a sacred perennial plant that has cultural, social, and economic importance to the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. Due to Mi'kmaq cultural practices and traditions being dependent on this plant, this grass is considered a cultural keystone species. According to popular discourse and survey evidence, wild sweetgrass habitat is being lost from successional replacement, habitat degradation, overharvesting, and climate change. As a result, to acquire a source of this sacred grass, Mi'kmaq groups can no longer obtain a sustainable source from wild populations. Thus, determining a sustainable way to increase access and availability of this culturally important grass is needed. The Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq (CMM), Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR), and Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) are conducting a collaborative research project to improve sweetgrass access and availability to Mi'kmaq communities. The goal is to create better understanding, access, and availability of sweetgrass to Mi'kmaq communities, by extending Mi'kmaq knowledge to enable growth of this culturally important species within their communities through agricultural practices. As part of the project, NSCC in collaboration with CMM and UINR will facilitate educational workshops to ensure information about how to propagate, transplant, and grow sweetgrass inland is distributed broadly across communities. Through this process, community members will be given the ability to strengthen their cultural relationship with this sacred plant. This three-year project will offer environmental, economic, and social benefits to Mi'kmaq communities. Specifically, determining best practices for growing sweetgrass inland will lower overharvesting pressure of wild sweetgrass populations, as well as allow oil and basketing making practices to continue. Furthermore, many ceremonies and teachings require sweetgrass, and continued availability will allow for these practices to be passed on. This collaboration will examine the cultural and practical implications of inland sweetgrass production to sustain a cultural keystone species for the Mi'kmaq people.

Sweetgrass（Mi'kmaw的Welimaqewel）是一种神圣的多年生植物，对原住民，因纽特人和梅蒂斯人具有文化，社会和经济意义。由于Mi'kmaq的文化实践和传统依赖于这种植物，因此这种草被认为是一种文化基石物种。根据流行的话语和调查证据，野生甜蜜的栖息地因连续的替代，栖息地退化，过度收获和气候变化而丧失。结果，要获得这种神圣的草的来源，Mi'kmaq群体无法再从野生人群那里获得可持续的来源。这是需要一种可持续的方法来增加这种文化重要谷物的获取和可用性。大陆Mi'kmaq（CMM），Unama'ki自然资源学院（UINR）和Nova Scotia社区学院（NSCC）的联邦正在进行一个协作研究项目，以改善Sweetgrass的访问和对Mi'kmaq社区的可用性。目的是通过扩展Mi'kmaq知识来通过农业实践来增强其在其社区中这种文化重要的物种的增长，从而为Mi'kmaq社区提供更好的理解，获取和可用性。作为该项目的一部分，NSCC与CMM和UINR合作将促进教育研讨会，以确保有关如何在社区中广泛分发有关如何传播，移植和成长的Sweetgrass Inland的信息。通过这一过程，社区成员将有能力加强与这种神圣植物的文化关系。这个为期三年的项目将为Mi'kmaq社区提供环境，经济和社会利益。具体而言，确定种植甜草内陆的最佳实践将降低野生甜草种群的过度压力，并允许石油和篮子制作实践继续下去。此外，许多仪式和教义都需要甜草，并且持续的可用性将允许通过这些做法。这项合作将研究内陆甜草生产的文化和实际含义，以维持Mi'kmaq人的文化基石物种。