Heidi Bohan

Heidi Bohan has over 18 years of experience working as an educator of native plants, horticulture, woodworking, ethnobotany, and traditional ecological knowledge of the Pacific Northwest. She has been a carpenter, fine woodworker, architectural designer, and as a teacher has taught classes in basketry, carving, weaving, edible and medicinal plants, and more. She has worked with many local tribes, as an instructor and mentor for the Northwest Indian College. Heidi is the author of a new book, The People of Cascadia: Pacific Northwest Native American History. It is an incredible living work with over 300 pen and ink illustrations depicting the daily life of the four major cultural groups of the Pacific Northwest. It was reviewed by tribal members and cultural experts and approved for the school social studies curricula in Washington State. In this interview, I visit Heidi in person in her study. This interview goes deep into how to effectively use plants in your life, using Heidi’s incredible life as an example. Though Heidi happens to be my neighbor in the Snoqualmie Valley, I regard her as the most hard-core plant skills learner I have ever met. Medicine, tools, weaving, dyes, gardening, carving, baskets… you name it, she’s done it. She was a crucial mentor for me in my understanding of how to make the plants that grow around come alive in my life. You can visit Heidi at http://heidibohan.com and http://peopleofcascadia.com