Abstract
This paper emphasizes the cultural value of plants in Nunatsiavut (Labrador, Canada), a self–governing Inuit region in the Subarctic. Via interviews with community members, we describe the links between plant usage and culture to understand the direct ways that plants are utilized for food, construction, gardening, and medicine, and to then link these uses to deeper cultural significance among three communities in Nunatsiavut (Hopedale, Postville, and Rigolet). Many plants were common amongst communities with a total of 66 taxa identified. About 75% of taxa were reported in at least two communities, corresponding to 95% of all responses. Edible plants were the most common reported usage, with emphasis on berry–producing taxa such as blueberry shrubs. Our study shows that a diversity of plants (i) support cultural activities; (ii) act as markers for historical events; (iii) highlight intergenerational exchange and valuing of plant knowledge; (iv) express the deep awareness that people have for their local environment; and (v) a medium for the expression of traditional values. The similarities in the plant responses among the communities suggest a shared body of plant knowledge. Our study supports the great cultural importance of plants in northern communities.
Highlights
Nunatsiavut is a self–governing Inuit territory located along the northern coast of Labrador, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Berry picking is an important annual cultural activity in northern Labrador, and every person interviewed had something to say about picking berries! One community member said, “Everyone
We did not consider gendered dimensions of plant use in our survey, but that could be an interesting aspect of a future project. The completion of this project means that all five communities in Nunatsiavut have participated in recent ethnobotanical surveys: Nain in Clark (2012), Makkovik in Oberndorfer (2016), and Postville, Hopedale, and Rigolet in this work presented here
Summary
Nunatsiavut is a self–governing Inuit territory located along the northern coast of Labrador, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The region spans a number of ecoregions, including Coastal Barrens, High Subarctic Tundra, and Mid–Subarctic. Ancestors of Inuit have lived in the region for millennia (Brice-Bennett et al 1977). There is firm recognition of plants’ importance to northern communities, but this was not always the case (Oberndorfer et al 2017). Looking at Inuit plant usage, Norton (2019) compiled nearly a hundred texts describing plant usage in communities from northern Alaska, the Canadian Western Arctic, the Canadian Eastern Arctic and Subarctic, and Greenland. Norton (2019) collated a total of 311 plant taxa, corresponding to 73 taxonomic families, that were noted as serving a purpose in Inuit activities and culture.
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