Chapter 6.5

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6.5 - Arctic Net Veined Willow


Daan Strik , University of Guelph, Canada

Willow.png

Suggested citation for this chapter.

Strik, D. (2022) Greens, Fleshy Stems and Gourds. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/

Background

The arctic net veined willow also known as the Salix arctica is a small willow that has adapted to the arctic conditions, specifically the tundra. Salix arctica is 15-20 centimetres heigh in length and comes in many different shapes, sometimes having long trailing branches that root where they meet with the surface. The arctic willow grows prostrate, shrub, and carpet, the leaves of this plant are oval shaped and have pointed tips, wedge shaped bottoms, and little stalks. The leaves can be between 15 and 50 millimetres in length, with the leaves being dark green on the bottom and lighter green on top. (Loren, 2003) The net veined part in the name arctic net veined willow comes from the fact that the veins are net like, along with the net like veins long hairs cover the leaves. The flowers of the Salix arctica are upright scaly spikes which are unisexual flowers and have no petals. These flowers normally bloom in the springtime and are about 5 centimetres with dark brown colours or sparkling pin colours. The Salix arctica doesn’t produce fruit, only seeds and the roots grow very shallow due to the frozen ground and cold conditions (Loren, 2003) The tundra is located in the very northern parts of North America and are places of scarcity receiving little rain and are low in vegetation. The tundra regions are treeless lands covered in snow for much of the year, only the summer brings bursts of vegetation (Nunez, 2020). Many of the tundras are inhabited by a variety of species and indigenous peoples such as the arctic foxes, polar bears, gray wolves, caribou, snow geese and musk oxen. The Inuit, Yupik and Aleut peoples also inhabit these lands along with many more (Nunez, 2020). With temperatures ranging anywhere in between -34- and -6-degrees Celsius causes great vulnerability for the living species in the tundra not only that, but the growing season is also only 50 to 60 days long since these are the times where the sun shines 24 hours a day. These conditions are harsh (Nunez, 2020).

The Salix arctica has had to make many adaptions to the harsh conditions of the arctic tundra, the plant has developed a method of forming a pesticide that keeps insects away during growth season an example of one of these insects would be the arctic woolly bear. Another one of the adaptions of the Salix arctica is the shallow roots, the shallow roots allow the plant to deal with the permafrost of the ground. The leave shave also adapted to the climate; the fuzzy hairs that grow on the leaves protect them from the cold temperatures (Loren, 2003). The Salix arctica is very plentiful in the wild yet it is very vulnerable due to its habitat. The shallow roots allow for root damage to occur more commonly, and it has a very short growing season. The arctic tundra isn’t very plentiful in food sources which makes the Salix arctica a common target for herbivores along with that the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium concentrations are very low which means that the soil isn’t very fertile (Loren, 2003). The Salix arctica was mainly used a medicinal plant the reason being for all the medicinal benefits such as relieving toothache, stopping bleeding, curing diarrhea and indigestion, and was also used as a poultice on wounds (Greenland Arctic, 2013). There was also a big health benefit to consuming the Salix arctica this being the plant is high in vitamin C which was really important because a vitamin C deficiency is a terrible thing to have, slight under nutrition would have some minor affects but, the more undernutrition a person became the worse the side affects would get. Vita1min C is important for collagen, carnitine, hormone, and amino acid formation, and is essential for bone and blood vessel health along with wound healing and burn recoveries. Low vitamin C in children can lead to poor bone growth and for both children and adults after months without vitamin C scurvy can occur which causes gums to swell, become purple, spongy, friable and can bleed easily. Teeth will become loose and spontaneous hemorrhages may occur (Johnson, 2020). In the modern world severe vitamin C deficiency is rare but, in the past, it would be very common for certain groups of people especially new world sailors.

That is why the vitamin C in the Salix arctica is very important it prevents vitamin C deficiency and the nasty affects of it. So how would this plant be consumed, most of the plant could be consumed raw and was most commonly consumed raw. For the leaves most commonly, they were harvested when young and consumed with blubber which is fat from marine animals, the roots would be peeled and then bitten to relieve a sore throat or toothache. Although it was easier and common to consume raw other methods of consumption were boiling the plant with soup or cooking it with meat the reason being because the Salix arctica had a sweet taste to it. The parts that weren’t consumed by humans were consumed by animals, bark and twigs were eaten by hares, musk, moose, caribou, and lemmings. The buds were a food source for ptarmigan (Petersen, 2020). Some parts of the Salix Arctica were not consumed by humans but did have other purposes, items were made such as string to string up fish, or a thick bed of willows would keep meat clean while butchering an animal on it, even drum frames would be made from the Salix arctica (Andre and Fehr, 2000). So, what indigenous groups were associated with the Salix arctica well the main users of the plant were the Inuit and the Gwich’in peoples, the Inuit being located in the more eastern parts of the tundra and the Gwich’in in the western parts. The Inuit people also known as Inuk have a homeland called Inuit Nunangat referring to the land, water and ice contained in the arctic region (Freeman, 2010). Majority of the Inuit peoples are located in Nunavut which is than followed by Nunavik in northern Quebec and some in Nunatsiavut in Labrador, there are also some Inuit in Inuvialuit which is located in the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Inuit is a broad term for the Indigenous people in the area since there are eight main ethnic groups of Inuit these being Labradormiut, Nunavimmiut, Baffin Island, Iglulingmuit, Kivallirmiut, Netsilingmiut, Inuinnait, and Inuvialuit. Each of these ethnic groups speak Inuktitut which has five main dialects in Canada (Freeman, 2010).

Traditionally the Inuit were hunter gatherers who moved around together, were special seasonal groupings for hunting. Winter hunters called bands which consisted of about 100 people and summer hunters which had fewer than a dozen people in groups. Many of the people live off of the country food, about 68%, foods such as seal, whale, duck, caribou, fish, and berries would be harvested from the country and most of this food would be shared among the people. About 65% of households get half their meet from country foods (Freeman, 2010). Rich and diverse culture was part of the Inuit peoples, they were highly skilled craftsman and artists, they would also do activities such as throat singing which would normally be done by two women who produced a wide range of sounds from deep in the throat and chest (Freeman, 2010). The Inuit have an interesting history too, arriving in North America about 1050 CE. Later on, around the 11th century the Inuit were contacted by the Norse Vikings coming from Iceland to Greenland and parts of Labrador. The Vikings had an important impact on the Inuit culture due to the fact that explorers, whalers, missionaries, scientists, and traders showed up and the Inuit would practice these activities themselves. Around 1350 the Vikings would disappear from the North American colonies but, a hundred year later Christopher Columbus would come to discover the Americas (Freeman, 2010). Eventually the French and British would come to colonize the Northern parts of America which would only be bad news for the Inuit. Many of the Inuit would be forced to assimilate into Canadian culture, many children would have to attend residential schools. After years of suffering the Inuit would get their rights and lands back but still face challenges to this day. The Gwich’in people were the other major indigenous group associated with the arctic net veined willow, also know as the Dinjii Zhuh meaning “One who dwells” or “the inhabitant of” are located in Alaska and speak Dene also known as Athabaskan. There are between 7000 and 9000 Gwich’in people living in small communities through Alaska and parts of Yukon/Northwest Territories. The Gwich’in are one of the northern most indigenous peoples and occupy a broad

area of territory the northern boundary touches the Inuit lands all the way to parts of Alaska. Like the Inuit the Gwich’in have a similar style of getting their food and also depend on the country foods but, they hunt different country food mainly moose, caribou and salmon fishing, the big game foods would supply majority of the foods and hide for clothing other sources of food were also small game such as hare and whitefish and plants such as berries and rhubarb which would supplement their diet (Clarck, 2020) The Gwich’in technology was very similar to other Dene people’s technology with some western technology which was achieved through contact with the west, some of this technology was big metal knives, sleds, Inuit designed birchbark canoes and caribou skin tents. The Gwich’in had very interesting social lives but, would almost always work together, many households would be associated with one chief or senior and would form a local band which would work together to catch food. Then there were also regional bands which was maintained through intermarriage and other interactions with families, which is similar to the way European monarchies functioned. Regional bands would meet up for annual festivals and ceremonies such as a marriage or a sons first kill (Clarck, 2020). The Gwich’in are deeply connected to their land with hunting, trapping, and fishing remaining a significant part of their economy and way of life. Another important part of Gwich’in life is story telling, many of the Gwich’in people would gather to hear stories from the elders or others who knew about the past or Gwich’in legends. Many stories about the human origins, nature and animal life would be told spiritual beliefs would also be transmitted through these stories. The Gwitch’in speak the Dene language which covers several indigenous groups, when first contacted there were nine main dialects of the Dene language. Due to population change and contact with the Europeans there are now only two main dialects of the Dene language, one spoken in Alaska and the other in Yukon and Northwest Territories (Clarck, 2020). During the 1860s a protestant missionary named?

Archdeacon Robert McDonald worked along side the Gwich’in to form their first writing system, the writing system has evolved over time and is characterized by a modern writing system developed by Richard Mueller. The new system reflects more consistently and accurately on the Dene language than the older system. In 1789 the Gwich’in made first contact to a European named Alexander Mackenzie which eventually led to trading and then epidemics which significantly reduced the Gwich’in population (Clarck, 2020). Both the Inuit and Gwich’in have an interesting history, culture and traditions and continue to practice them these days. Both the Inuit and Gwich’in had very similar uses for the arctic net veined willow and continue to consume them to this day even though consumption is becoming less frequent due to modernization, painkillers and vitamin C pills do a better job than the Salix arctica and are easier to come by which is unfortunately decreasing the purpose of the Salix arctica.

References

1.Nunez, C. 2020, February 20. Tundras Explained. National Geographic Society. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/tundrasexplained/#:~:text=Tundra%20ecosystems%2 0are%20treeless%20regions,summer%20brings%20bursts%20of%20wildflowers.

2.Loren, G. 2003. Arctic Willow. Blue Planet Biomes. https://blueplanetbiomes.org/arctic_willow.php

3.Johnson, L. 2020, November. Vitamin C Deficiency. MERCK MANUAL. https://www.merckmanuals.com/en-ca/professional/nutritional-disorders/vitamin-deficiency,-dependency,-and-toxicity/vitamin-c-deficiency

https://www.grida.no/resources/1817

4.Peterson, L. 2020, August 28. ACTIC WILLOW – SALIX ARCTICA. https://www.lwpetersen.com/alaska-wildflowers/arctic-willow-salix-arctica/

5.Freeman, M. 2020, September 24. Inuit. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/inuit

6.Clarck, A. 2020, June 19. Dinjii Zhuh (Gwich’in). The Canadian Encyclopedia. Dinjii Zhuh (Gwich'in) | The Canadian Encyclopedia