A lək̓ʷəŋən Estuarine Root Garden: the Case of Tl’chés

Abstract

Archaeologists and others have long overlooked ecosystems stewarded by Indigenous Peoples on the Northwest Coast of North America due to colonial perspectives on food-procurement strategies. As a result, these places remain largely overlooked and unprotected in present-day conservation and cultural resource management. Further, identifying, understanding, and revitalizing these systems are key to supporting the food security, cultural identity, and inter-generational knowledge transfer of Indigenous Peoples. This is the case with the lək̓ʷəŋən speaking Songhees First Nation (Coast Salish/southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia), where colonialism has severely impacted traditional knowledge about estuarine root gardens. To address this issue, and the desire of the lək̓ʷəŋən to revitalize these sites, this study employs a novel interdisciplinary methodology to evaluate a potential garden on the archipelago of Tl’chés. By combining archaeology, ecology, and pedology, and conducting ecological surveys, soil analysis, and archaeological excavations, we found that past cultivation practices have left measurable impacts at the site more than 100 years after management ceased. We conclude that evidence of estuarine root garden management is present in the Coast Salish, and that it is possible to identify sites in areas where they are no longer known by the community, re-integrating them within traditional food systems and re-defining archaeological approaches to their study.