Held by the Land: A Guide to Indigenous Plants for Wellness

What's inside the book?

Building Botanical Relationships

This first chapter explores the ways that Leigh has built relationships with plants and the land from a cultural and personal context. Building personal relationships with the land and with plants is a rich process full of opportunities for observing and feeling how your natural surroundings support you and what you can offer in return.

Teachings from Plants

Discover the teachings from, and related to, plants that have been impactful in Leigh's life and in her community-based research work as an Indigenous botanist. The teachings are ones that she continues to learn and integrate into her life to bring ongoing awareness and connectivity with my natural surroundings.

Identifying Plants to Build Your Home Apothecary

Build your own apothecary at home! Whether you are wild harvesting, growing in your garden, or purchasing plant ingredients from suppliers, there are some materials you will need to have on hand to help store dried plant ingredients, and some basic kitchen equipment that will help you process those ingredients.

The Mindful Harvest

What is a mindful harvest? It is a framework grounded in respect, reciprocity, and responsibility to plant relatives, and is foundational to being in good relationship with plants. Plants and the land have agency. They have their own spirits, names, interconnections, needs, and power. Being mindful with plants and with ourselves while observing, identifying, cultivating, and harvesting them is part of upholding our side of the relationships between people and plants.

Botanical or Land-Based Mindfulness Practices

Discover the steps and considerations for developing your very own botanical or land-based mindfulness practices. You will find an outline the steps and framework so that you can familiarize yourself with them and start to develop your own practices. A starting point is to begin to pay attention to the cues and indicators in your natural environment.

Plant Profiles & Recipes

This section goes into more detail about forty-four culturally important plants that grow in Squamish Territory or that have been culturally important to their community.

Each plant profile is designed to:

• introduce you to the plant through a personal reflection or experience

• share the Squamish, English, and Latin plant names

• help you identify the plant and learn about its habitat

• include a recipe to make with the plant, either for culinary or beauty purposes