Walking with Aalasi: An Introduction to Edible and Medicinal Artic Plants

Publisher's description (Inhabit Books): 
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.

Author biography (Inhabit Media): 
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.

Resource format: Picturebook

Age recommendation: grades 1-7

Keywords: land-based learning, Elders, traditional knowledge, Inuit, Inuktitut, plants, medicine, oral tradition, Nunavut, traditional plant use, recipes, oral tradition

Year of publication: 2009

Publisher information: Inhabit Media