Prairies and Wetlands of the Olympic Peninsula,

Washington: Their Native American Uses and

Stewardship – a free public talk by M. Kat Anderson

M. Kat Anderson has a Ph.D. in Wildland Resource Science from UC Berkeley and has conducted field work with tribes in California and Washington for over 25 years. She is the author of Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources.

Thursday, May 25

@ 10 am-12 noon

Purce Hall 1

The Evergreen State College

Poster: Kat_May25 Poster

Based upon extensive ethnographic interviews and review of the historic literature, Dr. Anderson will discuss the crucial importance of prairies and wetlands to the tribes of

the Olympic Peninsula. Prior to European contact, the indigenous people managed these open environments mainly with the tool of fire to benefit the plants and animals

they harvested for foods, medicines, and fiber. Indian–‐‑et fires maintained and in some cases expanded the biologically rich environments of prairies and wetlands. Today

private landowners and forest managers would do well to consider mimicking indigenous burning practices; prioritizing habitat diversity as a management goal;

pursuing restoration projects focused on increasing the abundance of ethnobotanically important plants; and collaborating with tribes in restoring these practices to the land.

This event is sponsored by the following Evergreen State College programs: Arts, Culture, & Ecology; Field Plant Taxonomy & Conservation; Food, Health, and Sustainability; Movements and

Migrations; and SOS: Commodification Processes & Alternatives. Thanks also to the Academic Deans and the

South Sound Chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society for financial support. Parking is $3.