Playing Fields

Project Director:Erin Willis

TKUP. The Traditional Knowledge of the Uses of Plants. Great hope lies in this area for the exploration and discovery of new drugs and treatments. New to Western medicine, that is. Many of today's cancer medicines and pain, anesthesia, and anti-inflammatory drugs were also derived directly from TKUP--plants and natural compounds used by traditional healers for generations before our modern "discovery." So how did we come upon these native cures in the past? And who owns this knowledge now once it's found? Importantly, how have we ethically dealt with the vast knowledge shared by traditional healers through time--and is that response changing in today's landscape? For example, how do we justly decide who receives compensation for cures rooted in TKUP, in a world weighted with intellectual property laws biased toward corporate interests?

Playing Fields builds its story around these questions and more, threading the perspectives of individuals whose work centers on traditional plants, indigenous rights, and the hopeful role of ancient knowledge in answering issues critical to our modern world.