Io Harris, a senior biology major at Carleton College, has a special interest in Indigenous ethnobotany, which connects her lifelong passion for flora with her Lumbee heritage. Driven by a desire to connect her academic background with community-based work, she sought out the Indigenous Engagement in Place (IEiP) Summer Student Research Fellowship as a way to practice ethical engagement with Indigenous community partners.
Io’s summer research was supported by her coursework in HIST 301: Indigenous Histories at Carleton, taught by American Studies and History professor Meredith McCoy (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe descent). Io also studied the theories and methodologies behind ethical community engagement. This foundational knowledge proved essential as she moved from the lab, her primary research setting in the past, into a project defined by relationships and oral traditions.
For her summer research collaboration, Io and her research mentor Nicky Buck (Prairie Island Dakota) focused on learning traditional Dakota plant relative uses, specifically for species common in the Carleton Arboretum. The goal of this collaboration was to build Io’s understanding of plants as relatives and to create public-facing education materials. As part of the research process, Io conducted verbal interviews where they not only discussed the traditional uses of these plant relatives, but also the colonization and decolonization of this information.
Io’s research, which focused on developing relationships, departed from the typical lab research she conducted in the past. By visiting with Buck and Carleton Elder in Residence Paul Dressen (hunka Dakota) to discuss the Dakota science and protocols regarding local plant relatives, Io gained insights that could not be found in literary references alone. As she noted, the relationships formed and time spent with her mentor was the research.
The most significant outcome for Io was the opportunity to spend time with a Native mentor who possesses a deep relationship with plant relatives and holds a vast wisdom about them. Io shared that the experience will be helpful as she explores future professional opportunities and envisions a future career in Indigenous ethnobotany.