Nan t'aih nakwits'inahtsih (The land gives us strength): The medicine plants used by Gwich'in people of Canada's western Arctic to maintain good health and well being.

摘要

An ethnobotanical research carried out by Gwich'in people from the Northwest Territories in July 2002 documented traditional plant knowledge. Ruth Welsh, Gwich'in Elder and Plant Specialist, identified 96 plants from traditional camp sites in the Gwich'in Settlement Area. Of this total, 34 plants are used traditionally as medicine plants to treat and heal skin and eye conditions, internal, respiratory, nasal and urinary problems, common colds and flu, as well as broken limbs, insect bites, stings, burns and to maintain good health. Prominent medicine plants are birch (Betula papyrifera), poplar (Populas balsamiferia), juniper (Juniperus communis), black and white Spruce (Picea mariana and P. glauca), tamarack (Larix laricina), willow (Salix spp.), plantain ( Plantago major), wintergreen (Pyrola gradiflora), wormwood (Artemisia tilesii), yarrow (Achillea millefolium ) and horsetail (Equisetum arvense). Documented too are the Gwich'in, English, Latin, and common plant names as well as cultural knowledge about the Gwich'in traditional way of life on the land.