Held by the Land Deck

Dr. Leigh Joseph is an ethnobotanist, author, and member of the Squamish Nation (S¿wx¿wú7mesh). Her work explores relationships between people, plants, and place through Indigenous knowledge, cultural renewal, and ecological stewardship. Leigh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Simon Fraser University, where her research and teaching focus on Indigenous plant knowledge, ethnobotany, and land-based learning. She is also the founder of S¿wálwen Botanicals, an Indigenous-owned skincare company rooted in Squamish plant knowledge and relationships to the land. Leigh is the author of Held by the Land, which was a 2023 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Honorable Mention, and 2026 Yellow Cedar Award nominee The Land Knows Me, a children’s book that invites young readers to build curiosity, connection, and belonging with the natural world. Across her work, Leigh encourages reciprocal relationships with plants and the places we call home.