BOOK THE EARTHS BLANKET

Book The Earth's Blanket by Dr Nancy J Turner

Early in the twentieth century ethnographer James Teit wrote of the belief among the Nlaka'pmx people that plants and grasses are the blanket of the earth and that if too much vegetation is destroyed the earth weeps. In The Earth's Blanket ethnobotanist Nancy Turner explores the wealth of ecological knowledge and the spiritual connection to the natural world that is fundamental to indigenous cultures.

Turner has worked with Aboriginal peoples in North America for more than twenty-five years and her indigenous teachers have allowed her to share their perspectives about the natural world. Their teachings describe a rich variety of methods of harvesting — while maintaining and enhancing — our natural resources. More than just stories these narratives underlie a belief system that informs everyday attitudes toward the earth.

NANCY TURNER renowned ethnobotanist and ethnoecologist is Distinguished Professor in the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. She is also a Research Associate with the Royal British Columbia Museum. An elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Linnaean Society of London she has authored or co-authored more than fifteen books.