Nancy Jean Turner (born 1947) is a notable North American ethnobiologist, originally qualified in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

, who has done extensive research work with the

indigenous peoples of British Columbia The Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and prac ...

, the results of which she has documented in a number of books and numerous articles.

Life

Turner was born in Berkeley in California in 1947 but moved to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

when she was five. She obtained her doctorate in Ethnobotany after studying the Bella Coola,

Haida Haida may refer to: Places * Haida, an old name for Nový Bor * Haida Gwaii, meaning "Islands of the People", formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands * Haida Islands, a different archipelago near Bella Bella, British Columbia Ships * , a 1 ...

and

Lillooet Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On BC Highway 99, the locality is by road abou ...

indigenous groups of the Pacific North-West. She works by interviewing the groups' elder members to identify their names for plants and their uses. Comparison and scientific analysis of this data has enabled her to draw conclusions. Turner's research identified not only the role that plants have had in these group's culture but also the effects that indigenous people have had historically on the landscape of Canada."Exploring Ethnobiology II: Nancy Turner"
27 July 2010, Pdtail, Retrieved 17 May 2016

Order of British Columbia

The Government of British Columbia admitted Nancy Turner to the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...

in 1999 and describe her, her work, and her contributions as follows:1999 Recipient: Nancy J. Turner – Victoria , Order of BC
Retrieved 24 April 2008

Nancy J. Turner ... is an internationally-distinguished scholar and scientist who has devoted her life to documenting the endangered knowledge of First Nations. As a pioneer in ethnobiology, her more than 25 years of research have focused on the diverse interactions of First Peoples in British Columbia with the ecosystems they depended on and the critical role of plant resources for foods, medicines and materials. Her research will be seen as a most valuable compendium of aboriginal culture and plant lore in British Columbia.

Bibliography

Books written

* * * * * * Turner, Nancy J. (2014). ''Ancestral Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge: Ethnobotany and Ecological Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America''. 2 vols. Kingston and Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. .

Books edited

* Deur, Douglas & Turner, Nancy J. (eds.) (2005) ''Keeping It Living, Traditions of Plant Use and Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America.'' Vancouver: UBC Press and Seattle: University of Washington Press. * Turner, Nancy J., Marianne B. Ignace and Sandra L. Peacock, editors. (2016) ''Secwepemc people and plants : research papers in Shuswap ethnobotany.'' Tacoma, WA : Society of Ethnobiology, 2016. .

Articles online

* * .

Distinctions

* R.E. Schultes Award (1997)University of Victoria Media Release
Retrieved 27 April 2008 *

(1999) *

Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Canada judges to have "made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Canadian public life ...

(1999) * Canadian Botanical Association’s Lawson Medal (2002) *

Killam Killam is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Albert Clements Killam (1849–1908), Canadian lawyer * Amasa Emerson Killam (1834–1922), Canadian politician * Dorothy J. Killam (1900–1965), Canadian philanthropist * Eva Ki ...

Research Fellowship (2007) * William L. Brown Award for Excellence in Genetic Resource Conservation (2008) *

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

(2009)

External links

Society of Ethnobiology

University of Victoria staff page

Dr Nancy Turner
wa-ter.ca

Uvic.ca

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Nancy Ethnobiologists Ethnobotanists Canadian women botanists Canadian women biologists 1947 births Living people University of British Columbia Faculty of Science alumni University of Victoria alumni University of Victoria faculty Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of British Columbia Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Linguists of Salishan languages 20th-century Canadian biologists 20th-century Canadian women scientists 21st-century Canadian biologists 21st-century Canadian women scientists 20th-century Canadian botanists 21st-century Canadian botanists