Carrie Calisay Cannon presents Plants, Inspiring the People; Reflections on Hualapai Ethnobotany of the Grand Canyon. Where lies the cure to diabetes? “Ask the prickly pear, or the mesquite bean pod…maybe they will tell you.” This is the answer you may hear from elder instructors of the Hualapai Ethnobotany Youth Project. The ethnobotanical story of the Hualapai Tribe begins with the plant knowledge the people inherited from their great grandparents who lived entirely off the land. Hualapai grandchildren live in a completely different modern world. A world of cell phones, text messages, and Apple iPods. Information in this presentation shares knowledge about the project’s examination of the crucial role plant resource acquisition plays in Hualapai culture; knowledge that was fine-tuned and perfected over millennia.
Carrie Cannon is a member of the Kiowa tribe of Oklahoma and also is of Oglala Lakota descent. She has a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and an M.S. in Resource Management. She began working as a tribal biologist for the Hualapai Tribe of Peach Springs, Arizona in 2005 where she began the creation of an intergenerational ethnobotany program for the Hualapai community. Carrie Cannon is currently employed as an ethnobotanist for the Hualapai Department of Cultural Resources. She administers a number of department projects and programs which promote the intergenerational teaching of Hualapai ethnobotanical knowledge. Carrie works towards both preservation as well as revitalization focusing her energy on ensuring tribal ethnobotanical knowledge persists as a living practice and tradition.
The general public may attend an Arizona Archaeology Society – Desert Foothills Chapter meeting at no charge, except for the member-only holiday party in December. The AAS-DFC meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month, September through May. There are refreshments available at 7:00 PM and the meeting begins at 7:30 PM, usually ending prior to 9:00 PM. The meetings are held in the community building (Maitland Hall) at The Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church, 6502 East Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, AZ 85331 (near the Dairy Queen). www.azarchsoc.org/desertfoothills
