Foreword

This report describes the use of plants, traditionally and currently, of the Iñupiaq Eskimo of the Golovnin Bay, in the Norton Sound of Alaska. The information on each plant was collected during the summer of 1994 in Golovin, Alaska. The people I gathered my information from were friends and relatives, whom I consider to be authors of this book just as much as I am. I have taken their knowledge and compiled it so it is more accessible to the generations of Iñupiaq Eskimos that will follow us. This collection was made for them.

Most of the plants on which I gathered information, were flowering, but many had already bloomed and only seeds and berries were found. My  photographer, Bill Wood, photographed most of the plants, which will help in identification of the plants. I identify the Iñupiaq, common English and scientific names of each plant. A short description of the plant is found at the beginning of the text. The information following the physical description pertains to the nature of the plant use by the people in Golovin. Where I thought it was necessary, I included other sources to supplement the knowledge I was given by the people of Golovin. I include stories and quotes from the people who helped me. I describe my encounter with the plants and hope that this adds to the description. Many times I describe where I found the plant and have included a hand drawn map with a rough description of where the plants were found.