Inuit Indigenous GroupThe Inuit have many different names such as the Inupiat, Yupik, and Alutiit. They reside in Northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, and eastern Siberia. Early 21st-century population estimates indicated more than 135,000 individuals of Inuit descent, with some 85,000 living in North America, 50,000 in Greenland, and the remainder in Siberia. A good percentage of Inuit people have the B blood type, which seems to be absent from other indigenous groups.
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Role of PlantsThe plants in their culture are used to help produce food, and to help aid medical conditions. They used the very little pants that they had as protection from the cold winds. They would also eat and use some plants to produce meals in the cold weather. Parts of the plants that were used are Veratrum viride, Aquilegia formosa. Although, they relied heavily on the animals of the Arctic as their main source of food. Not much food could survive in the Arctic because of the weather so they could not depend solely on the plants for food. Plants that do grow in this area however are adapted to the extremely short and still quite cold growing season. Some of these successful plants include: mosses, lichens, and other short plants. The traditional medicinal substances that the Inuit uses mainly consist of animals products, although other substances such as; berries, plants, trees and herbal teas; snow; stones, sand and urine may also be used.
Leaves from the bearberry plant are boiled and drunk to help ease a stomach-ache. Boiled seal fat can also be ingested for to alleviate the symptoms of coughing and ease breathing |
Citations
“The Inuit.” The Arctic People - Food / Hunting / Tools, firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_inuit3.html.
“Anthropology & the Human Condition.” Health and Healing Practices of the Inuit - Anthropology & the Human Condition, sc2218.wikifoundry.com/page/Health+and+Healing+Practices+of+the+Inuit.
The Arctic People - Groups in This Region, firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_inuit1.html.
“Anthropology & the Human Condition.” Health and Healing Practices of the Inuit - Anthropology & the Human Condition, sc2218.wikifoundry.com/page/Health+and+Healing+Practices+of+the+Inuit.
The Arctic People - Groups in This Region, firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_inuit1.html.