Honouring Reconciliation - Traditional Plant Knowledge with Luschiim Arvid Charlie & Nancy Turner
Channel: West Vancouver Memorial Library
Date: 2021-10-04

Honouring Reconciliation is a program to honour the experiences of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, facilitate learning, and promote understanding of our shared history. This event was recorded on Saturday, October 2, 2021.

Join Cowichan elder and botanical expert, Luschiim Arvid Charlie, and ethnobiologist and botanist, Nancy J. Turner, for a look into the traditional plants of the BC Coast, their traditional uses, and how Luschiim is working to preserve that knowledge as well as the Hul′q′umi′num′ language.

Luschiim, Dr. Arvid Charlie, is a respected Elder and botanical expert of Cowichan Tribes. He was born in Quamichan. His mother, Violet, was also a plant expert, and his father, Simon Charlie, was a famed carver and artist. Luschiim’s remarkable knowledge of plants, culture, and his Hul’q’umi’num’ language comes from deep training and experience, starting in his earliest childhood years, learning from his great grandfather Luschiim (whose name he inherited), his great grandmother, and others of their generation. A canoe puller in Cowichan racing canoes from the age of 14, Luschiim Arvid Charlie skippered many racing canoes, and later was a leader in the Yulhulaalh Canoe Journeys from 2005 to 2017. Luschiim has dedicated his life to preserving and protecting his culture, language, and the environment for generations to follow and he shares his knowledge generously with others. In 2007, Luschiim received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters degree from Malaspina University-College (now Vancouver Island University). Luschiim started working with Nancy Turner on a project culminating in the book, Luschiim’s Plants, in 2005.

A Distinguished Professor Emerita in Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Nancy Turner is an ethnobotanist who has worked with Indigenous elders and cultural specialists in western Canada for over 50 years, learning about traditional knowledge of plants and environments and helping to document this knowledge for future generations. She has authored or co-authored/co-edited over 30 books and over 150 book chapters and papers, and has received a number of awards for her work, including the Order of Canada, Order of British Columbia, and fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada, as well as honorary degrees from four BC universities. She has been delighted to work with, and learn from, Dr. Luschiim Arvid Charlie over the past 15-plus years, and to help produce Luschiim’s Plants in his honour.

Luschiim and Nancy’s book, Luschiim’s Plants: Traditional Indigenous Foods, Materials, and Medicines will be coming out September 18, 2021.

For more information about our upcoming programs, visit westvanlibrary.ca.