Plants at the End of the World: Beringian Ethnobotany
ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
10.7265/8QTG-7976
Geographic Area
Circumpolar region
Russian Federation
United States (Alaska)
Topics
Food security and sovereignty
Indigenous knowledge
Plants
Time Period
2013 - 2022
ELOKA Data Types
Indigenous terminology
Local observations
Photos
Quantitative (environmental) data

Overview

This site includes a visual catalog of Beringian plants accompanied by information about the traditional ways people in Western Alaska and Chukotka, Russia, use plants for food medicine and other purposes.

Beringia is the region including the Bering Strait and the land on either side of it. Some people define the term narrowly to include only the westernmost part of the Seward Peninsula in Alaska and the easternmost part of the Chukotsky Peninsula in Russia. However, we prefer a broader definition that includes much of Alaska and Chukotka.

Ethnobotany is the study of the relationship between people and plants. This includes how people use plants, for example, as food, medicine, for construction, and for many other purposes. It also includes how plants are named and classified, as well as stories, legends, and other beliefs about plants.

 
Citation

Jernigan, K., Belichenko, O., Kolosova, V., Orr, D., & Pupynina, M. (2023). Plants at The End of the World: Beringian Ethnobotany [Data set]. National Snow and Ice Data Center. https://doi.org/10.7265/8QTG-7976

The ELOKA Program is generously supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation through awards OPP-1554271, OPP-1549912, and OPP-1546038