Genomic diversity of rat root (Acorus calamus)

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Aboriginal knowledge of plant diversity is based on generations of accumulated experience, and in some cases, aboriginal people recognize a greater level of natural variation within certain plant groups than is discerned by science. However, aboriginal plant knowledge is rarely considered when assessing, managing and conserving biodiversity. In Canada, development projects undergoing federal review are required to consider traditional lands, cultures and knowledge, but the regulations on how to do so are generally broad and overly flexible. Moreover, there are few, if any, stipulations on how consider traditional knowledge in reclamation planning. As a result, First Nations and Métis people, and the groups representing them, struggle to have their knowledge represented in land use planning. Integral Ecology Group (IEG) is a consulting company that has been a long-standing technical representative for the Fort McKay First Nation in northern Alberta in negotiations with regulators concerning development in Fort McKay's Traditional Territory. The aim of this research is to partner with IEG to explore variation of rat root (Acorus calamus) in the context of traditional and scientific knowledge. Rat root is a traditional medicine and cultural keystone species of many First Nations communities in Canada, and it is recognized by the scientific community as a single species. However, members of the Fort