Habitat modeling for health sovereignty: Increasing indigenous access to medicinal plants in northern Maine, USA

Abstract Medicinal plants and fungi play important roles in the health of Maliseet people of northern Maine, USA. A critical aspect of exercising choice in health care for this community is the ability to locate and have access to these plants. Habitat suitability modeling is a form of geospatial technology that can enhance health sovereignty by identifying locations in which populations of medicinal plants can be conserved or established. However, use of this technology within indigenous communities has been limited. Focusing on the medicinal plant muskrat root, Acorus americanus (Raf.) Raf., we generate a habitat suitability model for eastern Aroostook County, Maine (1,055,653.659 ha) that also takes community needs into consideration. Drawing on participatory ethnographic data as well as environmental characteristics, our model combines ecological and sociocultural parameters to identify previously unknown populations of A. americanus that are accessible to tribal elders. Our model successfully predicted 95% of A. americanus locations in our field validation data set of ∼71,000 ha. Results suggest that approximately 0.6% of our study area contains suitable habitat to plant muskrat root that could also meet tribal members' gathering needs for the future. Increasing the number of potential collection sites gives communities options for gathering, thereby enhancing health sovereignty. Broadly, our work suggests that, when done in partnership with communities, different forms of geospatial technology can be beneficial tools for efforts to promote health sovereignty.