Eleanor Bishop, MA Thesis Defense
Schedule
Fri, 21 Nov, 2025 at 03:00 pm
UTC-09:00Location
1790 Tanana Loop, Bunnell 405A, PO BOX 757720, Fairbanks, AK, United States, Alaska 99775 | Fairbanks, AK
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MA candidate Eleanor Bishop’s research explores the deep and dynamic relationships between people and plants in Dena’ina territories, revealing how traditional ecological knowledge continues to shape cultural identity and land stewardship today. By weaving together oral histories, ethnographic insights, and archaeological evidence, her work highlights the many ways plants connect past and present, sustaining both community and landscape across generations.This event is free and open to the public. Everyone is invited to learn how ethnographic and archaeological research can illuminate enduring Indigenous relationships with the land and offer lessons for cultural revitalization and environmental care.
🌸"Human-Plant Relationships among Inland Dena’ina Communities in South-Central Alaska" Eleanor Bishop, MA Thesis Defense
📅 Date: Thursday, November 21st
🕓 Time: 3:00pm-5:00pm
📍 Location: Bunnell 302 & Zoom
💻 Zoom Link: https://alaska.zoom.us/j/84590376373
Abstract
This thesis examines the enduring and evolving relationships between Inland Dena’ina people and the plants of south-central Alaska, situating these connections within broader patterns of land use, cultural identity, and environmental knowledge. The research integrates ethnographic, ethnohistorical, and ethnoarchaeological approaches. It draws on oral histories, interviews, participant observation, archaeological data, archival materials, and existing ethnographies to document both continuity and change in traditional plant use. Findings reveal that plants have long held nutritional, medicinal, technological, and spiritual importance within Inland Dena’ina lifeways, deeply intertwined with place-based knowledge and seasonal practices. Although shifts in settlement patterns, land access, and economic structures have altered the frequency and contexts of plant use, traditional ecological knowledge continues to inform contemporary cultural practice and land stewardship. Multiple lines of evidence demonstrate that plant use among Inland Dena’ina communities reflects more than subsistence—it embodies a relational worldview linking people, plants, and place, offering vital insights for heritage preservation, landscape interpretation, and Indigenous-led environmental management.
About the UAF Department of Anthropology
The UAF Department of Anthropology explores the rich diversity of human experience—past and present—through archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. Our students and faculty are dedicated to understanding people and cultures in Alaska and around the world, combining fieldwork, research, and community engagement to advance knowledge and inspire discovery.
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Where is it happening?
1790 Tanana Loop, Bunnell 405A, PO BOX 757720, Fairbanks, AK, United States, Alaska 99775Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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