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Koyukon Plant Database



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Scientific Name Related Terms
Koyukon Name Koyukon Root KAD Page Notes on Translation Use Information
Alnus sp.
kk'es kk'es 357
Nelson ties this to Alnus crispa
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.


kk'ʉykk'eze
kk'ʉy3
372
Some discussion of term on KAD page 372


alder bark
kk'es lot'oodze'
kk'es
357

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.

alder catkins
kk'es delodzoye'
kk'es
357

Jetté - "...alder catkins are burnt in offerings to the spirits."

alder stem
kk’es dokkuł
kkuł1
341



edible cone-like seed cases of red alder
kk'es deloghe geege
kk'es
358
Lit. 'alder branch berry'

alder charcoal
kk'es t'aaze'
kk'es
357

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."

Alnus tenuifolia
Alnus tenuifolia

Alnus tenuifolia
Alnus sinuata
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Scientific Name Related Terms
Koyukon Name Koyukon Root KAD Page Notes on Translation Use Information

any aquatic algae, free floating algae, floating moss
dlot
dlot1
156
Jetté - "An aquatic plant resembling a lichen without any apparent differentiated organs, floating as a gelatinous mass on lakes and slow streams."

reddish-brown algae
tokkotluh tluh1 586 Lit. 'mushy substance on water surface' Jetté - "Aquatic plant, probably an algae, moss-like, found floating in rusty brown filament, sometimes collected in lump-like masses, very soft and almost gelatinous."

underwater algae taahdlode' dlot1 156
Jetté - "A sort of aquatic plant, of rich green color, moss-like, and of a gelatinous consistency. Found in lakes and slow streams."


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Scientific Name Related Terms
Koyukon Name Koyukon Root KAD Page Notes on Translation Use Information
Artemesia sp. sage
tl’uh tsen
tl’uh 616 Lit. 'fragrant grass'  

wormwood
       
Artemesia tilesii
stinkweed tl’enh benee
ben5 98 Locally called stinkweed


Artemesia tilesii
Artemisia tillesii
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Scientific Name Related Terms
Koyukon Name Koyukon Root KAD Page Notes on Translation Use Information
Sorbus scopulina
mountain ash
dekenh ts'ot'eeye
t'aa01
541
Lit. 'wood that is evil' Jetté - "Evil wood, a species of elder, having a voluminous light pith, and exhaling a rather strong odor of prussic acid. Grows to about six feet, the shoots clustering from one root. It is credited with special virtues to drive away the devils, more particularly those that cause sickness and most of all the denaa gheneede. It exposes however those who come in contact with it to the bane of the tleedotole. An old woman is generally the gatherer, and before cutting the twigs she lays some presents at the root, and makes apologies for the liberty which she is about to take, pleading the urgent necessity and the gheno kk'aat. The branches are brought to the camp and boiled in water, the decoction being used either as a potion or as a lotion. This remedy is used almost exclusively for children, and as a last resort, when all other measures have failed."
Sambucus racemosa
red elder
ł



Kwaraceius - "Jetté's descriptions, including the strong smell and the pithy wood, fit elder Sambucus racemosa (Jetté offered the same genus name). However, its northernmost range is around the southern border of Denali Park. Mountain ash, Sorbus scopulina, is a plant that superficially resembles elder. It ranges through much of the Koyukon Athabaskan area. However, it does not match Jetté's descriptions. Though both plants are used for medicinal and food purposes, one must exercise caution using them. The prussic acid in elder is poisonous and is found in almost all parts of the plant. However, the cooked, deseeded berries are edible and are used to make jams and jellies."

Sambucus racemosa
Sambucus racemosa
Sorbus scopulina
Sorbus scopulina
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Scientific Name Related Terms
Koyukon Name Koyukon Root KAD Page Notes on Translation Use Information
Populus tremuloides
quaking aspen
t'egheł kk'ooge
gheł5
244
Lit. 'tiny cottonwood, little cottonwood'
Nelson notes that aspen is used much in the same way as balsam poplar.


t'egheł yoze





small, dry standing aspen
t'egheł zooze'
soos
747
Lit. 'conical cottonwood'


Populus tremuloides
Populus tremuloides

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Scientific Name Related Terms
Koyukon Name Koyukon Root KAD Page Notes on Translation Use Information
Actacea rubra

nełtene ch'ejege'
ten5
513
Lit. 'thunder berry'

Baneberry
Actacea rubra
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Scientific Name Related Terms
Koyukon Name Koyukon Root KAD Page Notes on Translation Use Information
Arctostaphylos alpina
alpine bearberry
geeze noghe'
geeze
185
Lit. 'camprobber's eyes' Nelson - Stored in moose fat or grease, and mixed with fish, meat or oil before eating

kinnikinnick



Noted as a common name for geeze noghe'

Arctostaphylos rubra
red-fruited bearberry
deneyh
neyh
476
Nelson notes this also applies to Arctostaphylos alpina and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
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'"
Arctostaphylos alpina
Arctostaphylos alpina
Arctostaphylos rubra
Arctostaphylos rubra
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Scientific Name Related Terms
Koyukon Name Koyukon Root KAD Page Notes on Translation Use Information
Betula papyrifera
paper birch
kk'eeyh
kk'eeyh
353

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.
Betula nana
dwarf birch
łeyeł
yeł3
692
Means shrub in general, but when applied to a specific plant it most often means Betula nana, but can also refer to Betula glandulosa
Betula glandulosa
resin birch
kk'aan dikina


Described from Nelson, not in KAD


Betula papyrifera

Betula papyrifera

Betula nana
Betula nana
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Scientific Name Related Terms
Koyukon Name Koyukon Root KAD Page Notes on Translation Use Information
Mertensia paniculata
lungwort
ggaał lodelyaaye
ggaał
200
Lit. 'those which are put in the king salmon's throat (mouth)' Jetté - "They all seem to allude to a practice of putting the bluebell plant in the king salmon's mouth. No description of the custom could be obtained. The practice, as well as the various names, are entirely unknown to the upper tribe."


ggaał laagge zelaaye






ggaał laagge nodelyaaye






ggaał dzaaye'




Mertensia paniculata

noolaagh dzaaye'
dzaayh2
165
Lit. 'dog salmon's heart' or 'king salmon's heart'


ggaał dzaaye'




Mertensia paniculata or Valeriana capitata
unidentified bluebell or valerian
łookk'e lo daaldloye
lo2
404
unidentified plant that grows on the edge of lakes, possibly bluebell or valerian
Jones - "This is burned under a fishnet so that smoke drifts through the meshes to rid the net of bad luck."

Mertensia paniculata
Mertensia paniculata
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Scientific Name Related Terms
Koyukon Name Koyukon Root KAD Page Notes on Translation Use Information
Boschniakia rossica
poque
dotson' ggooneegge'
tson'
644
Lit. 'raven pipe' Jones - "A plant with hollow stem used as a tube."


dotson' ch'echene'





Boschniakia rossica
Boschniakia rossica

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