As an ethnobotanist/basket weaver, I'm very much involved with whether or
not those of us who routinely collect Native plants are "damaging" the
environment.
PBS Home Video has put out an excellent tape called Myths and Moundbuilders
which was shown on PBS a couple of years ago. Its main point is the archaeo-
logical aspects of the mound builders ..... thousands of years of highly
sophisticated technology previously attributed to "other" cultures ...
Aztec, Inca, or outer space .... BUT for me, the main point was Agriculture.
The fact that hundreds of native plants flourished and all the Indians had
to do was gather them ....BUT...after some well meaning trade brought Maize
culture into the area, and those native plants were no longer "harvested" on
a regular basis, many of them became extinct. Therefore, continual harvesting
should be considered a form of Agricultural Practice. Watch the film if you
have a chance .... I purchased it from Rising Arrow in Sunnyvale, CA ... which
is a local source for "Indian Craft Supplies" and books. PBS has a whole
series of Native American topics, with this being only one of them. Encourage
your local library to purchase them.
Lyn Dearborn
<dearborn@anchor.esd.sgi.com>
[ I have the list of PBS videos, and will try to remember to post it soon.
--Gary ]