Habitat modeling for health sovereignty: Increasing indigenous access to medicinal plants in northern Maine, USA

摘要: Abstract Medicinal plants and fungi play important roles in the health of Maliseet people northern Maine, USA. A critical aspect exercising choice care for this community is ability to locate have access these plants. Habitat suitability modeling a form geospatial technology that can enhance sovereignty by identifying locations which populations medicinal be conserved or established. However, use within indigenous communities has been limited. Focusing on plant muskrat root, Acorus americanus (Raf.) Raf., we generate habitat model eastern Aroostook County, Maine (1,055,653.659 ha) also takes needs into consideration. Drawing participatory ethnographic data as well environmental characteristics, our combines ecological sociocultural parameters identify previously unknown A. americanus are accessible tribal elders. Our successfully predicted 95% field validation set ∼71,000 ha. Results suggest approximately 0.6% study area contains suitable root could meet members' gathering future. Increasing number potential collection sites gives options gathering, thereby enhancing sovereignty. Broadly, work suggests that, when done partnership with communities, different forms beneficial tools efforts promote