Source:
PROJECT JUKEBOX Digital Branch of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program - Ethnobotany, Ethnomedicine, and Traditional Healing

jukebox.uaf.edu/interviews/4527

Jennifer "Jen" Andrulli was interviewed on October 10, 2022 by Stefanie Burich via Zoom. Jen was in Soldotna, Alaska and Stefanie was in Anchorage, Alaska. In this interview, Jen talks about her work with traditional plant harvesting and use of plants for medicinal purposes. Jen talks about traditional healing and the importance of plants for physical and emotional healing, re-connecting with cultural traditions, and how this knowledge is part of what she calls the "Great Remembering." Jen shares her families traditions of respect for plants and the natural world and some of her knowledge about specific plants and how she processes and uses them.

DIGITAL ASSET INFORMATION
Archive #: Oral History 2021-02-32

THEMES
Alaska Natives, Arnica, Berries, Berry Picking, Bluebell, Chiming Bell, Chocolate Lily, Coltsfoot, Cottonwood, Cultural Values, Dandelion, Devil's Club, Ethnobotany, False Hellebore, Fireweed, Flowers, Goldenrod, Greens, Harvesting Protocols, Labrador Tea, Lungwort, Native Culture, Plant Use, Plants, Respect Culture, Rhodiola, Rockwort, Roots, Rose, Rose Root, Spirituality, Spruce, Traditional Beliefs, Traditional Food, Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Medicine, Yupik
Manley Hot Springs Alaska, Soldotna Alaska

SECTIONS
Introduction

First memory of using plants

First plant used medicinally, and gaining broader knowledge of plants and plant use

Family history of plant knowledge, and effect of immigration and colonization

The "Great Remembering," and healing

Learning to gather and use plants from her mother, Karen Brooks

Loss of cultural knowledge and traditions

Alaska Native prophets and re-learning to thrive with nature's cycles

Revitalizing plant knowledge, and Yupik creation story

Learning about plants and finding the right teacher

Traditional healers, and integrating traditional medicine with Western medicine

Harvesting protocols

Developing a relationship with a new plant, and communicating with plants and animals

A personal story about plant and human communication

The importance of identifying plants properly and knowing what is safe to use

Use of traditional practices and celebrations for treating disease and healing

Harvesting and use of rhodiola root

Use of rhodiola greens

Harvesting and use of coltsfoot

Use of bluebell flowers, and eating the colors of the rainbow

Learning to use and mix medicinal plants, and using the example of respiratory ailments

Difference between processing of leaves versus roots and bark

Use and processing of dandelion

How plants can support us emotionally

Supporting meaning-making with traditional use of plants

Using plants with intention, and for different purposes

Alaska Native ways of mindfulness

Unification as the hope for the future

Providing jobs in rural Alaska in traditional food harvesting, and honoring Elders

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