Understanding the Role of Plants in Traditional Lifeways in a Mvskoke Ceremonial Community

Abstract

This thesis examines how a particular community of Mvskoke Creek peoples in northern Florida perceive the relationship between plants, people, and the natural world and how their participation in the traditional Busks (the ritual aspect of the traditional Mvskoke religious system) have influenced the development of those perceptions over time. This thesis will employ the theoretical approaches of phenomenology, situated learning, world-view studies, ethnoecology, ethnobotany, and traditional ecological knowledge. Themes that emerged from his research vary from perceptions of supernatural beings known as the Little People, to gardening, to traditional Medicine practices. Major focuses of this thesis include modern Mvskoke lifeways and the traditional Mvskoke ceremonial rituals.