Language, landscape and ethnoecology, reflections from northwestern Canada

I draw on Witsuwit’en, Kaska and Gitksan landscape research to investigate similarities and differences in landscape terminologies, and ethnoecological implications of landscape kinds in northwestern British Columbia and the southern Yukon. Kaska and Witsuwit’en are Athapaskan languages while Gitksan is a Tsimshianic language. Gitksan and Witsuwit’en share similar landscapes and some aspects of social structure, though they are linguistically distinct, and Witsuwit’en and Kaska share some aspects of traditional economy and language, though there are differences in landscape and social structure. This three-way comparison allows exploration of the interaction of language, landscape and ecological perspectives.

Published online: 09 June 2011
https://doi.org/10.1075/clu.4.15joh