Divergence and Convergence in Traditional Plant-Based Medicinal Practices of Haitian Migrants in Montreal, Miami and Cayenne

Abstract

Migrants continue to usee their traditional herbal medicines in their new locations, but few studies have compared therapeutic practices within a diaspora spread among different countries. In order to better understand how medicinal plants and associated practices circulate in the process of transnational migrations, we examine the Haitian diaspora in the cities of Cayenne (French Guiana), Miami (United States), and Montreal (Canada). We conducted semi-structured interviews (n = 44) with Haitian migrants in all three locations, and compiled plant inventories in gardens, shops, and through interviews. Our results record a total of 185 species cited among the three localities that were sold in shops, cultivated by informants, or gathered in diverse urban spaces, demonstrating the vitality with which members of the Haitian diaspora continue to use plants from their original pharmacopoeia while highlighting marked dissimilarities among uses. The persistence of phytotherapy practices among migrant populations in different locations is fueled by transnational commercial and individual flows of medicinal plants.