For thousands of years the Hul’q’umi’num’ people have lived on the western shores of the Salish Sea in British Columbia, Canada. They have always had a close relationship with the environment. Vast amounts of information concerning the plants and animals of the region have been passed down from generation to generation through the oral medium of the Hul’q’’umi’num’ language. This website, which will be under development for many more years, represents just a small fraction of our knowledge on this topic.
We do this work primarily for our relations, those who are speakers or learners of our language. It is hoped that presenting the knowledge in this form will help successive generations to remember the unique and important teachings of the Elders. It is hope that this website will be of interest and use to a broad audience including First Nations people, educators, students, and others.
In researching the plants, we have used information from general sources as well as from our own local knowledge holders. All information provided by Hul’q’umi’num’ Elders remains their intellectual property and is included here in the spirit of sharing, education, and mutual understanding.
We raise our hands to the Elders who have so generously shared their knowledge, wisdom, and kindness in the production of the materials used in this work.
Hay ce:p q’a, si:’em’!
