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Chutmauk is a small herbaceous plant that grows in
moist, dark places along the cliffs outside of Golovin. The
cliffs face north west and get very little light. The 3 inch
by 3 inch heart-shaped leaves are bright green and grow very
close to the ground. The taller flower stems grow to about 6
inches high and have small white flowers along the
stalk.
Chutmauk leaves are eaten like leaf lettuce and are
mixed with chura, the diamondleaf willow.
The leaves are soaked in seal oil and would become very soft
if chutmauk was eaten by itself. Mixing them with
chura prevents this. Agnes Amorak had a bag
full of chutmauk in her freezer. She pulled them out
to show Bill and I, and gave us a frozen sample. The leaves
did taste like lettuce and were still crunchy in the frozen
state. Frozen chutmauk is usually dipped in seal oil
and eaten with dry fish. The villagers call this "Eskimo
food," as compared to "whiteman food," as my grandma calls
things like spam, crackers, and bread. When I lived in
Golovin, my grandma would eat her Native food about once a
week. She said that if she ate too much "whiteman food" she
would get sick.
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