Rethinking Traditional Plants

Over generations, plants become traditional to cultures around the world. Every tribal nations has plants which it considers sacred. For example, the Schwinitz's sunflower is imortant to the Catawba Nation of South Carolina.

Roo (Catawba Nation) talks about how his idea of "traditional" plants has changed. According to Roo, the traditional stance for Catawba people has always been to adopt new plants and to make them traditional over time.

What makes a plant traditional? How can this change over time?

Indigenous Land Relationships in the Carolinas

An Interactive Audio Tour created by Quinn Smith through the Equity Through Stories Program

This tour features short audio recordings of Indigenous people telling their own stories connected to their relationship with the land.

< GO TO THE PREVIOUS RECORDING

Jump to another point in the tour:

• We Are Here
• A Living Land Acknowledgement
• Common Misconceptions
• What is Nature?
• The Meherrin’s Medicines
• The Four Sacred Herbs
• Indigenous Medicinal Plants
• Pine Needle Art: Vickie’s Story
• Who Owns Seeds?
• Birdsongs
• Listen to the World Speak
• Indigenous Fire Practices
• How to Support Indigenous Peoples
• The Story of the White Corn
• Why the Leaves Change Color
• The Story of the Three Sisters
• Growing up in Hillsborough, 1940s

About Quinn Smith, Jr.

Quinn is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, majoring in public policy with a documentary studies certificate. As a documentarian, Quinn strives to challenge our misconceptions of Indigenous people by documenting a long-silenced, shared humanity.

What drew Quinn to the Equity through Stories Program was the ability to uplift Indigenous truths and to forge reciprocal relationships with Indigenous people throughout the Carolinas. Quinn does this by interviewing Indigenous people about their relationships with the land and weaving their stories into audio documentaries to be exhibited at the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants. He also initiates seed-sharing and other reciprocal ventures between Indigenous peoples and Blomquist Gardens. Quinn hopes that his work will help to re-educate Duke Garden’s 500,000+ annual visitors and to create a healing space for Indigenous people.

Visit Quinn's website here.