Isabelle Maurice-Hammond

Topic

Gardens on the Edge: Estuarine Root Gardens as Places of Tangible Heritage and Indigenous Futurity

School of Environmental Studies

Date & location

• Tuesday, April 21, 2026

• 1:00 P.M.

• Clearihue Building

• Room B007

Reviewers

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Darcy Mathews, School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria (Supervisor)

• Dr. Brian Starzomski, School of Environmental Studies, UVic (Member)

• Dr. Douglas Deur, School of Environmental Studies, UVic (Member)

• Dr. Dana Leposfky, Department of Archaeology, SFU (Outside Member) 

External Examiner

• Dr. Tara Martin, Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia 

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Brian Thom, Department of Anthropology, UVic 

   

Abstract

Estuarine root gardens are Indigenous plant stewardship landscapes on the Pacific northwest coast of North America. The plants that were cared for in these coastal sites–Pacific silverweed (Argentina egedii (Wormsk.) Rydb.; syn. Potentilla pacifica (L.) Howell), springbank clover (Trifolium wormskioldii Lehm) and northern rice-root lily, Fritillaria camschatcensis (L.) Ker Gawl)– were eaten by Indigenous Peoples from northern California to Alaska. In certain areas, generations of Indigenous Peoples cared for and altered the soils, hydrology, and ecology of high estuarine marshes to maximize the growth and output of these nutritionally, spiritually, and economically important plants. Though stewardship methods and the location of some of these places are still known by Indigenous Knowledge Holders,1 descendent communities, and researchers (primarily in coastal British Columbia, Canada), the extended dismissal of Indigenous plant stewardship practices by settler ethnographers and archaeologists has resulted in a chronic under-representation of these places in the archaeological record of British Columbia. Furthermore, tangible remnants of Indigenous estuarine stewardship–in the form of legacy ecosystems and cultural soils–is not currently seen as sufficient evidence in categorizing these places as archaeological sites. This has implications for their protection under current provincial Heritage and Conservation (HCA) legislation, as well as the ability of descendent communities to reconnect with these culturally significant places and foods. Finally, identifying estuarine root gardens, and contributing to eco-cultural restoration efforts, is occurring within a context of ongoing and cumulative colonial violence to Indigenous territories, with estuaries particularly at risk. Understanding and addressing these complex factors is key to the successful restoration, renewal, and creation of stewarded places. 

Ultimately, this dissertation aims to address the disconnect between the (often limited and fragmented) archaeological study of estuarine root gardens and the importance of these landscapes for Indigenous heritage, food sovereignty and security, and cultural reconnection through the Indigenous-led restoration and renewal of food systems. In doing so, I present and tests a series of novel and interdisciplinary methods to identify estuarine root garden sites and better understand their post-stewardship trajectories, accounting for eco-cultural context, present day ecologies and hydrologies, and cumulative colonial impacts. Combining archaeological excavations, ecological monitoring, and pedological analysis, I examine two estuarine root gardens (and comparative periphery, or control sites) occurring in different eco-cultural contexts. The first, at Tl’chés, is a Lək ̓ ʷəŋən/Songhees root garden that was no longer known by descent communities and knowledge holders, making it the first of its kind to be formally identified in Coast Salish territories. The second, at the mouth of the Gwa’ni (Nimpkish) River, is a known ‘Na̲mg ̲ is Kwakwaka'wakw estuarine root garden site which has been documented by non Indigenous researchers since the 19th century, offering a rare glimpse at more than a century of changing use and occupation patterns in the area. A third estuarine root garden at Tsinwilht’as (Anderson) Creek in ʕaaḥuusʔatḥ Nuu-chah-nulth territories was investigated as part of an Archaeological Impact Assessment (AIA) by Stafford (2020). As such, the methods described in this paper could not be replicated there. However, the thoroughness of Stafford’s (2020) investigation provides important comparative data, helping illustrate both the similarities and differences of estuarine root gardens located in different eco-cultural areas, as well as an example of best archaeological practice in the field of Cultural Resource Management (CRM). 

Overall, the methods applied during this research demonstrated that 1) estuarine root gardens continue to support distinct ecological assemblages shaped by past Indigenous stewardship, though the ecological trajectory of these places vary based on local hydrological, cultural, and climactic factors. 2) Estuarine root garden soils are morphologically and chemically distinct, with heightened levels of organic matter and available soil phosphorus (P). As such, they can best be understood as cultural or Indigenous soils, developed in situ to increase garden productivity and access to preferred long, straight roots and rhizomes. 3) Archaeological signatures at estuarine root gardens are variable; as such, archaeologists need to expand their arsenal when investigating a potential estuarine root garden site. These considerations, furthermore, should be rooted in engagement with the communities to which these places belong. 4) Finally, estuarine root gardens are living archaeological sites. As such, they are places with profound ties to the communities that built and cared for them, a relationship that extends into the future. Developing a better understanding of estuarine root garden formation has implications for the community-driven restoration of these places, often occurring in contexts where coastlines have been altered by ongoing and cumulative settler colonial impacts.

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¹Thanks, in large part, to Indigenous elders and knowledge holders, late Kwaxistalla Wathl’thla (Adam Dick) of the Qawadiliqəlla Clan of the Dzawada’enuxw Kwakwaka'wakw of Kingcome Inlet, as well as his relatives and friends Mayanilth (Dr. Daisy Sewid-Smith), and Oqwilowgwa (Kim Recalma-Clutesi)