Alder:
Scientific Name
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Related Terms
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Koyukon Name
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Koyukon Root
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KAD Page
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Notes on Translation
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Use Information
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Alnus sp.
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kk'es
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kk'es
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357
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Nelson ties this to Alnus crispa
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Jetté - "The sap is used as a red stain for wood, moose skin and laftak."
Sullivan - After a child is born, the afterbirth, placenta and membranes are tied in a bundle and hung from this tree to decay.
Nelson - The Koyukon origin story for alder tells about a woman who heard a tale that was so sad and terrible that she began to cry and pinch her skin until it bled. She became the alder tree and this is why the alder's bark can be used to make red dye.
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kk'ʉykk'eze
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kk'ʉy3
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372
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Some discussion of term on KAD page 372
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alder bark
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kk'es lot'oodze'
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kk'es
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357
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Nelson - Used to make reddish dye to color caribou skins and porcupine quills. Green bark is harvested in spring and allowed to dry, then soaked overnight in water or boiled. The bark and water are applied to stain the skin.
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alder catkins
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kk'es delodzoye'
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kk'es
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357
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Jetté - "...alder catkins are burnt in offerings to the spirits."
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alder stem
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kk’es dokkuł
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kkuł1
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341
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edible cone-like seed cases of red alder
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kk'es deloghe geege
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kk'es
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358
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Lit. 'alder branch berry'
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alder charcoal
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kk'es t'aaze'
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kk'es
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357
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Jetté - "Obtained by charring small branches, is applied to the umbilical cord of newborn infants. It is sprinkled on the stump and frequently renewed during the first days."
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Alnus tenuifolia
Alnus sinuata |
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Fireweed:
Scientific Name
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Related Terms
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Koyukon Name
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Koyukon Root
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KAD Page
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Notes on Translation
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Use Information
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Epilobium angustifolium
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ch'entl'ene' ts'eeł'aane
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tl'en1
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601
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Lit. 'that which we use for dentalia'
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k'etssegheye ts'eeł'aane
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ghey::tseghey
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246
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Lit. 'that which we use for marten-skin'; 'marten (parka) material'
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Jetté - "This subsitution of the plant, worthless, for the valuable pelt, is allowed by custom, in the burnt offerings to the spirits, especially to the souls of the deceased shamans."
Zagoskin - leaves are used for making tea
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Epilobium angustifolium |
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Willow:
Scientific Name
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Related Terms
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Koyukon Name
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Koyukon Root
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KAD Page
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Notes on Translation
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Use Information
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Salix sp.
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kk'ʉy
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kk'ʉy'
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372
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Sullivan - Many descriptions of willows being cut and used as ground cover during fish and game processing
Nelson - Willow poles are used for setting gill nets under the ice.
Used to build a variety of items such as fish racks, basket rims, fish traps, etc.
Zagoskin - reports a long jumping contest played along the Koyukuk in 1843 that involved ten pieces of willow placed six feet apart and gradually moved farther apart to determine a winner.
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a large willow, tree size
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kk'ʉy gede'
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kk'ʉy'
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372
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a medium sized willow, a reddish mid-sized willow
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belaazon kk'ʉye'
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zon1
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741
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Lit. 'otter's willow'
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Jones - Used to make snare fences
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a rotten willow
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ts'ell'ʉyh t;'oodle'
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tl'otl2
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611
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Salix arbusculoides
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a tree willow
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kk'ʉyloo
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łoo
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418
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"Littletree willow" - Nelson
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Nelson - Combined with rotten spruce and used to smoke hides. Description of process on pages 165 - 166 of Tracks in the Wildland.
Young leaves are eaten.
Small shoots and stems are peeled and scraped to obtain sweet, edible sap.
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catkin of the willow
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kk'olodeeto'
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kk'ʉy'
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373
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to'2
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518
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dry willows
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oghe
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o2
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40
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inner bark of willow
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ch'etlotone'
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tp2
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517
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Clark - Made into twine and woven to make nets for fishing. These nets must be kept wet at all times to prevent cracking.
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k'aalt'oodze'
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t'oots
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557
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Sullivan - Mouths of fish are tied with willow bark before being roasted whole.
Nelson - In Tracks in the Wildland he describes the use of willow bark in the ceremony held when the first king salmon of the season is caught. "If women wanted to participate in the ceremony, they had to wear cords of twisted willow bark around their necks and wrists."
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fresh willow sprouts in spring
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kk'olgeets
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geets
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185
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pussy willow catkin
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kk'ololeege'
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kk'ʉy'
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373
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reddish willow in mountains
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kk'uyh tseek
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kk'ʉy'
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372
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small, red-barked willow
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bet'on' deets'aaggeye
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ts'aakk
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652
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species of mid-sized willow
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bezeye kk'ʉye'
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kk'ʉy'
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372
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willow catkin
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kk'ʉy dleyh deloyule'
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yul
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720
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willow with red bark
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kk'ʉykk'eze
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kk'ʉy'
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372
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Salix bebbiana
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Bebb willow, diamond willow
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kk'ʉy dliyh
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Description from Nelson not found in KAD
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Nelson - Used for decorative woodwork
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Salix planifolia
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diamondleaf willow
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kk'uy dlits'eela
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Description from Nelson not found in KAD
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Salix pulchra
Salix sp. catkins
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Celery:
Scientific Name
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Related Terms
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Koyukon Name
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Koyukon Root
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KAD Page
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Notes on Translation
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Use Information
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Angelica sp.
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wild celery
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Unidentified in Koyukon language, but use of Angelica lucida as a source of food is noted in the Lower Yukon by Heller
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Zagoskin - in a journal entry dated June 16, 1843, he describes collecting an edible plant near Nulato that he identifies as Angelica sylvestris.
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Angelica sylvestris
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Birch:
Scientific Name
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Related Terms
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Koyukon Name
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Koyukon Root
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KAD Page
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Notes on Translation
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Use Information
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Betula papyrifera
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paper birch
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kk'eeyh
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kk'eeyh
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353
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Jetté - "Birchwood is used extensively in the making of sleds, canoe frames, snowshoes, etc., and for such purposes the birch that grows on hillsides, or in dry ground is always selected when available. The native claim that the one from the flood-plains rots easily and does not last over one year. My experience goes to confirm this statement."
Sullivan - Beginning on page 2 of the The Ten'a Food Quest, he gives a description of use for fish wheel baskets. On page 3 is a description of birch bark being used as canoe covering and how trees are selected for bark.
Sullivan - Inner bark is separated from outer bark and dried and roughened to prevent fish from slipping during processing. Bark is used as a watertight roofing material in combination with earth. Also used in basket making.
Sullivan - On page 28 of The Ethnology of the Ten'a Indians of Interior Alaska, he describes the process for making bow and arrows from green birch wood.
Nelson - On pages 177-185 of Tracks in the Wildland he gives descriptions and illustrations of how birch bark is gathered and used for a variety of containers.
Clark - Big game spears were made from a shaft of birch and a spear head made from moose tibia or bear ulna.
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Betula nana
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dwarf birch
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łeyeł
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yeł3
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692
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Means shrub in general, but when applied to a specific plant it most often means Betula nana, but can also refer to Betula glandulosa
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Betula glandulosa
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resin birch
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kk'aan dikina
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Described from Nelson, not in KAD
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Betula papyriferaBetula nana |
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Bearberry:
Scientific Name
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Related Terms
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Koyukon Name
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Koyukon Root
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KAD Page
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Notes on Translation
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Use Information
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Arctostaphylos alpina
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alpine bearberry
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geeze noghe'
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geeze
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185
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Lit. 'camprobber's eyes'
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Nelson - Stored in moose fat or grease, and mixed with fish, meat or oil before eating
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kinnikinnick
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Noted as a common name for geeze noghe'
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Arctostaphylos rubra
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red-fruited bearberry
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deneyh
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neyh
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476
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Nelson notes this also applies to Arctostaphylos alpina and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
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Jetté - "A berry resembling the haw, the fruit of the hawthorne, but round, not oblong and hardly ever over 3/8 inch in diameter. The natives collect it on hillsides, late in the fall, when it is still quite hard, and use it during winter, mostly in nonaałdlode. 'Indian ice cream'"
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Arctostaphylos alpinaArctostaphylos rubra |
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Artemesia:
Scientific Name
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Related Terms
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Koyukon Name
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Koyukon Root
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KAD Page
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Notes on Translation
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Use Information
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Artemesia sp.
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sage
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tl’uh tsen
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tl’uh
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616
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Lit. 'fragrant grass'
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wormwood
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Artemesia tilesii
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stinkweed
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tl’enh benee
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ben5
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98
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Locally called stinkweed
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Artemisia tillesii |
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Iris:
Scientific Name
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Related Terms
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Koyukon Name
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Koyukon Root
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KAD Page
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Notes on Translation
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Use Information
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Iris setosa
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rattle weed, wild flag, wild iris
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beyee k'edeleloye
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łoyh
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418
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Lit. 'in it something rattles'
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Jetté - "A tall reed bearing coriaceous capsules in which loose dry seeds rattle when the plant is shaken."
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Iris setosa
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meyee k'edelezooze
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soos
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748
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Lit. 'in it something rattles'
"So called from the sound made by its dry seeds in winter wind" --Jetté
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Iris setosa
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meyee k'edellaal
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laał
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383
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Lit. 'in it something rattles'
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Jetté - "A tall reed bearing coriaceous capsules in which loose dry seeds rattle when the plant is shaken."
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Iris setosa |
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Indian Potato:
Scientific Name
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Related Terms
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Koyukon Name
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Koyukon Root
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KAD Page
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Notes on Translation
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Use Information
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Hedysarum alpinum
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wild carrot
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tsoł
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tsoł1
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642
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Especially refers to the edible root of the plant
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Jetté - "The tsoł is good only during the winter, when the natives gather it, digging for it under the snow. It is then round and full, juicy and tender. After the thaw it loses its qualities, becomes hard, woody, and tasteless. It is also used as a substitute for tea or coffee. For this purpose, the root is sliced transversely in segments 1 to 2 inches long; these are divided longitudinally, by separating the fibers, and these are cut again across in small portions, which are afterwards dried and roasted in a frying pan. They are used as tea, in an infusion, and sometimes as a decoction. The beverage thus prepared is said to taste like chocolate."
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Hedysarum alpinum
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nen' t'oh daaldloyee
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nen'1
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475
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Lit. 'those which are underground'; 'underground berry'
Especially refers to the edible root of the plant
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Hedysarum alpinum
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nen' yeh geege'
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geege
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184
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Lit. 'berry under the ground'
Especially refers to the edible root of the plant
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Hedysarum alpinum |
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