Portfolio Activity #2: Research Process Journaling

How has colonialism affected and changed traditional ecological knowledge? From our readings so far and my own personal interests, I would be very interested in looking at historical documents and their depictions and information of traditional medicinal knowledge in relation to traditional ecological knowledge. Specifically, I would like to look at Michigan traditional ecological knowledge, natural medicinal knowledge, and folklore. For primary sources, I would look at original medical texts, written accounts, and recorded interviews if possible. I think my findings could potentially reframe my research question due to the cultural implications of this knowledge to the people that it pertains to. Materials that I would like to access that are not digitized would be personal collections, diaries, verbal history, and other things that must be sought out rather than found in museums or archives.

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How was midwifery practiced and valued in times of slavery both for free persons and enslaved persons? Through my research I found several primary sources that I have cited in other blog posts, these included ledgers and manuscripts detailing the estimated value of an enslaved midwife, illustrations of midwives and enslaved persons, and accounts of midwives throughout the time of slavery. Reasonably, I can answer questions about the importance that midwives held in the community through the accounts discussing them and from the values given to them by their owners. When comparing their roles in enslaved communities to others it is apparent that there is more importance held on them. Materials I would like to access that are not digitized/difficult to access in a digital format would be handwritten accounts and diaries. I found from my research that there is no true written account that only details midwifery so it is difficult to find what you are looking for in primary sources since there are so many other topics being discussed. If I were to go forward with this research I would need to look further into previous research to find adequate primary sources and documentation for my research question.