Workshop Mentors: Verna Miller

I  grew up with very traditionally based paternal grandparents until  I was sent off to residential school.  I became very interested in ethnobotany after reading Thompson  Ethnobotany by my good friend and mentor Nancy Turner.  I did not realize how much knowldge  I had retained despite my long absense from homeland.  The other issue that came  to my attention was the lack of acknowledgement   by researchers who gathered critical information  from Indigenous people  they researched.  My other passion is Intellectual Property  Rights concerning Indigenous people.  In  2006 I was  invited by Kelly  Bannister to Thailand to  be part  of the Ethics Committee; this was the turning point for getting involved with the ISE.  Since then I have been a member.