Digital Commons Network^™

“A Caretaker Responsibility”: Revisiting Klamath And Modoc Traditions Of Plant Community Management, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Conventionally, the Klamath and Modoc Indians of south-central Oregon and northeastern California are depicted as hunter-gatherers, who took no active role in the management of plant communities. In the course of a multi-year ethnographic effort, however, tribal elders have identified a complex of interrelated plant management practices that are consistent with contemporary definitions of plant cultivation. These include the management of black huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum) yields in subalpine environments, the management of marsh-edge environments for yellow pond lily (Nuphar polysepalum), the tending of ‘‘epos’’ or yampah (Perideridia spp.) digging sites, and the selective harvest of tree cambium, sap, and wood …