At long last, book of Native plantlore will be published

In the 1990s, ethnobotanist Priscilla Russell, in coordination with the Alutiiq Museum, Kodiak Area Native Association, National Park Service and Koniag Inc., visited every Alutiiq village to collect interviews with elders regarding local plants. The resulting report, "Kodiak Alutiiq Plantlore," is considered the most complete written account of Alutiiq plant use traditions, but it has never been published.

The Alutiiq Museum recently received a grant of $48,208 from the national Institute for Museum and Library Services that will be used to publish the 1995 report. Funds will be applied to editing and designing a print-ready document, adding photos to the trove of 150 taken by Russell in the 1990s and including Alutiiq vocabulary in the text.

In a press release, museum director April Counceller noted that many of the elders interviewed by Russell have since died. She said the goal of the publication was to make traditional knowledge "accessible to future generations of harvesters, cooks and healers.

"The people who contributed to the report gave their knowledge for this purpose. We will honor their contributions through this manuscript," Counceller said.