Launching March 2025!
Sḵwálwen will start taking pre-orders 2 weeks ahead of the book's release. Click the "Please Notify Me When Available" button below to be added to the pre-order list. Customers who pre-order will also receive a custom TLKM bookmark with QR code to a nature-based audio soundscape.
All copies purchased through Sḵwálwen are signed by the author / Sḵwálwen founder Dr. Leigh Joseph.
Through the Squamish language and cultural traditions, learn about Indigenous plant relationships and how we are all connected to nature through plant-based foods, medicines, and materials.
The best way to learn about plants is through observing and interacting with living examples. Join Held by the Land author Leigh Joseph and her children in The Land Knows Me, an educational, hands-on journey to discover all the wonderful uses and gifts of the plants around us. Through the Indigenous traditions of Squamish culture you’ll learn how to ground yourself on the land, how to introduce yourself in the Squamish language to your plant relatives, and the many teachings about plants, cultural stories, and learnings related to the flora seen on your walk.
This essential and colorful introduction to Indigenous plant knowledge includes informative sidebars, reflection questions, and plant names in both Squamish and English so children can learn a new language.
The Land Knows Me concludes with a 15 plant profile directory featuring detailed plant illustrations and kid-friendly botanical drawings to aid in learning about the many great uses for plants and the native history behind them. You'll meet plants like:
- Ḵwiĺayus (kw-ill-eye-os), Red-Flowering Currant, Ribes sanguineum
- Ḵ’emeláý (k-em-ill-eye), Bigleaf Maple, Acer macrophyllum
- Séliýaý (s-elle-ee-eye), Oregon Grape, Mahonia nervosa
- Xápaýay (hey-pie-eye), Western Red Cedar, Thuja plicata
- Ḵwe7úpaý (kw-oh-pa-eye), Pacific Crabapple, Malus fusca
And more!
The directory also includes important safety and proper harvesting information for parents who are looking for more opportunities to educate and engage with kids while getting to know the secrets of the land around us. Including mindfulness activities, how-to crafts, and yummy treats, The Land Knows Me calls you back again and again to learn something new with each engaging read!
Follow the stream, cross the field, and step into a forest full of rich, botanical diversity rooted in history and tradition.
