Europe PMC · 2026-03-20
Indigenous Mi'kmaq communities in Newfoundland rely on boreal heathlands for berry picking, hunting, food preservation, and cultural knowledge transmission — landscapes long dismissed as wasteland by non-Indigenous land managers. This study reveals that these open, shrubby ecosystems hold deep biocultural value that should reshape how we approach boreal conservation.
Heathlands in the Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland) boreal region support a documented diversity of culturally significant plants used by Miawpukek First Nation members for food, hunting, and preservation — despite being historically classified as low-value land.
Community members possess detailed traditional ecological knowledge spanning plant biodiversity, ecosystem dynamics, environmental change, and land ethics (reciprocity and responsibility) specific to heathland landscapes.
Heathland access is critical for sustaining intergenerational knowledge transmission, cultural identity, and customary food systems — making their loss a cultural and food-sovereignty issue, not merely an ecological one.
