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Book Launch: Held by the Land: A Guide to Indigenous Plants for Wellness by Leigh Joseph with Welcome by Salia Joseph

  • Massy Arts Gallery 23 East Pender Street in Chinatown, Vancouver (map)

On Wednesday, April 12th at 6:00pm, join Massy Arts SocietyMassy Books, and WellFleet Press for the launch of Held by the Land: A Guide to Indigenous Plants for Wellness by Leigh Joseph.

Come celebrate the lyrical, meditative prose, Squamish ethnobotanist Leigh Joseph employs as she advocates for a way of living that develops and builds relationships with the plant life around us.

This project has been made possible by the Government of Canada. Ce projet a été rendu possible grâce au gouvernement du Canada.

Registration is free/by donation, open to all and required for entrance. Register on Eventbrite here

Purchase Held by the Land at the event, and have your book signed by the author.

Venue & Accessibility

The event will be hosted at the Massy Arts Gallery, at 23 East Pender Street in Chinatown, Vancouver.

The gallery is wheelchair accessible and a gender-neutral washroom is on-site. Please refrain from wearing scents or heavy perfumes.

For more on accessibility including parking, seating, venue measurements and floor plan, and how to request ASL interpretation please visit: massyarts.com/accessibility

Covid Protocols: Masks keep our community safe and are mandatory (N95 masks are recommended as they offer the best protection). We ask if you are showing symptoms, that you stay home. Thank you kindly.

About The Book: HELD BY THE LAND (WellFleet Press):

Held by the Land invites us to explore our natural surroundings and renew our connection to the land. With lyrical, meditative prose, ethnobotanist Leigh Joseph advocates for a way of living that develops and builds relationships with the plant life around us, viewing ourselves as part of the ecosystem rather than outside, imposing our whims upon it. Her approach, informed by her cultural heritage as a member of the Squamish First Nation, calls upon reclaiming ancestral knowledge and practices that were impacted by centuries of colonization and rejuvenating them for future generations.

The book also acts as a field guide to plants that were, and remain, vital to the Indigenous communities that are from the territories in the area now known as the Pacific Northwest. You will learn how to:

– Identify forty-four culturally significant plants- Harvest plants safely and successfully, or grow them on your own- Set up your very own home apothecary- Utilize plants in both topical and culinary recipes, such as facial steams, bath soaks, desserts, and more

Discover all the riches and abundance that await you once you begin attuning yourself to the natural world.

About the author

Leigh Joseph is an ethnobotanist, researcher and entrepreneur from the Squamish First Nation. She contributes to cultural knowledge renewal in connection to Indigenous plant and land-based relationships.

Leigh holds a BSc in Botany, MSc in Ethnobotany and is completing her PhD in Ethnobotany. She is the co-director and subject of the documentary Walking with Plants, which was nominated for 3 Leo Awards. Her writing has been published in the journals Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Canadian Journal of Botany and International Journal of Indigenous Health and she contributed a chapter on the renewal of Indigenous plant knowledge to the book Plants, People, and Places.

As founder of beauty brand Sḵwálwen Botanicals, Leigh brings together Indigenous science and self care, providing luxury skincare and wellness products that draw from the ceremonial aspects of plants.

Leigh aims to contribute her voice as an Indigenous academic so that other Indigenous authors and students will feel themselves represented and reflected in ethnobotany literature. Her first book, Held by the Land: A Guide to Indigenous Plants for Wellness, is a bestselling Canadian nonfiction work that’s part narrative, part field guide and recipe book that draws on her lived experience as an Indigenous woman, her training in Western Science, and her cultural journey toward identity.

With Welcome by:

Salia Joseph is from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Snuneymuxw First Nation’s on her father’s side and is British and Jewish on her mothers. Salia is a graduate from the First Nations and Indigenous studies program from the University of British Columbia. Salia is a Squamish language learner and is the executive director of The Sníchim Foundation which is a Sḵwx̱wú7mes language and culture non-profit. In addition to her language work Salia is the co-owner of Host Consulting Inc. which focuses on public art and elevating the designs and work of Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleilwaututh artists. Salia is very passionate about where she comes from and is and learning constantly about what it means to be Sḵwx̱wú7mesh.