Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples

by Nancy J. Turner

In Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples, renowned ethnobotanist Nancy J. Turner describes more than 100 plants traditionally harvested and eaten by coastal aboriginal groups. Each description contains botanical details and a colour photograph to help identify the plant, information on where to find it, and a discussion on traditional methods of harvesting and preparation. This popular book remains an essential guide for anyone interested in wild edible plants or traditional cultures of First Peoples living on the coast of British Columbia and adjacent areas in Alaska and Washington.

Genres: Indigenous, Science, Plants, Reference, Nonfiction, History, Food

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Nancy Turner is an ethnobotanist whose research integrates the fields of botany and ecology with anthropology, geography and linguistics, among others. She is interested in the traditional knowledge systems and traditional land and resource management systems of Indigenous Peoples, particularly in western Canada.

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Turner is *the* expert in Pacific Northwest wild foods and what was eaten and used by the Coastal First People of the Pacific Northwest. A must for all of us interested in this field of study.

[Adam Graffunder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coastal first peoples ate everything with Grease (oil of the candlefish or Eulachon).

[Riley M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned a lot from this book. Covers all the most used plant foods (and some medicinal or craft uses) of indigenous coastal people. I like that it covers traditional food uses, including often info about social customs relating to the food, when and how it was harvested, food storage and preservation, trade, how it was prepared by different groups, etc. But then it also mentions which plants are still used by indigenous people today and ways that they are or aren’t used differently now.

[bibliophagy · Rating 5 out of 5]

so informative but too advanced, not detailed enough, and with not enough pictures for my current level of knowledge. i'll come back to this one when i know more of the basics of plant identification.

[Daniel Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful resource and entry point for people wanting to learn about key food plants used by Indigenous Peoples in Coastal BC. My only complaint is that it needs a revision (original text date to 1995) to account for changes in plant names, and to integrate more recent findings.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great companion to plant technology! Will be doing more foraging in the future.

[Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent.