For my Free Inquiry project I will be learning about local indigenous plants and how to use them in day to day life. I will be taking walks during which I will identifying some of the plants I see and whether they are in season. I will be linking related information as I learn the traditional uses of such plants, whether that be for cooking or medicinal purposes. It is important to know the plants that grow around you as well as to respect the land that you are on.
As I will be learning about plants on the unceded territory of the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples, I will add the Indigenous names of the plants and the traditional territory where I find them. It is important to understand that while I will include the uses of the plants that that doesn’t mean that the plants should be harvested. There are some plants that are endangered and should only be viewed and not taken. The resources that I will be referencing in my quest for Indigenous plant knowledge will be hyperlinked in the post in which they are mentioned. The video included in this post features an introduction into the Indigenous plants and their spiritual and medicinal uses.