Edible and Medicinal Arctic Plants: An Inuit Elder’s Perspective

As a little girl in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, Aalasi learned from her mother how to identify and harvest plants. Later, a mother herself, and living in Niaqunnguuq (Apex), she continued the practice, living off the land and passing her knowledge on to the next generation. In this introductory guide to traditional plant use--originally published as Walking with Aalasi--Aalasi shares her memories and knowledge of eighteen plants commonly found in the Canadian Arctic.
From plant identification and environmentally respectful collection to traditional uses and recipes, Edible and Medicinal Arctic Plants teaches readers how to reap the benefits of the natural world around them.

Aalasi Joamie was born in Inukjuak, Quebec. Her family moved to Pangnirtung when she was a young girl. In the 1960s, she moved to Niaqunnguuq (Apex) with her husband and children into their first house. She has lived there ever since. For many years, Aalasi worked as a maternity aid at Baffin Regional Hospital. Aalasi contributed to Interviewing Inuit Elders: Perspectives on Traditional Health and she teaches traditional plant knowledge workshops at Nunavut Arctic College. She also travels to traditional plant-use conferences nationally and internationally.Rebecca Hainnu lives in Clyde River with her daughters. Her work includes Math Activities for Nunavut Classrooms and Classifying Vertebrates. She is also the author of The Spirit of the Sea. Her book A Walk on the Tundra, co-authoured with Anna Ziegler, was a finalist for the 2013 Canadian Children’s Literature Round Table Information Book Award, and was among the 2012 ＂Best Books for Kids and Teens,＂ as selected by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.Anna Ziegler lives in Iqaluit, where she works at Nunavut Arctic College as an instructor and regional program coordinator. She is the co-author, with Rebecca Hainnu, of A Walk on the Tundra, and author of of Tukisigiaruti Qaujisaqtulirinirmut: A Life Sciences Handbook for Nunavut Educators.