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Aalasi Joamie

Aalasi Joamie was born in Inukjuak, Quebec. Her family moved to Pangnirtung when she was a young girl. In the 1960s, she moved to Niaqunnguuq (Apex, a satellite community of Iqaluit) with her husband and children into their first house. She has lived there ever since.

For many years, Aalasi worked as a maternity aid at the Baffin Regional Hospital. Aalasi contributed to Interviewing Inuit Elders: Perspectives on Traditional Health and she teaches traditional plant knowledge workshops at Nunavut Arctic College. She also travels to traditional plant-use conferences nationally and internationally.

From the author:

It is as if I an unable to live without plants. They have been a part of my childhood, my adolescence, and my motherhood. I have taken my toddlers out on walks with me. I have tried to pass on my knowledge of plants to my children. I know which plants are edible, which are harmful and which have medicinal uses. My father also taught me how to use plants as indicators, as a compass is used. By using rocks, the positions of plants, wind and hills, you can find your way back. I have learned the use of these indicators through trial and error.

- Excerpted from Walking with Aalasi: An Introduction to Edible and Medicinal Arctic Plants.







				Aalasi Joamie Aalasi Joamie was born in Inukjuak, Quebec. Her family moved to Pangnirtung when she was a young girl. In the 1960s, she moved to Niaqunnguuq (Apex, a satellite community of Iqaluit) with her husband and children into their first house. She has lived there ever since. For many years, Aalasi worked as a maternity aid at the Baffin Regional Hospital. Aalasi contributed to Interviewing Inuit Elders: Perspectives on Traditional Health and she teaches traditional plant knowledge workshops at Nunavut Arctic College. She also travels to traditional plant-use conferences nationally and internationally. From the author: It is as if I an unable to live without plants. They have been a part of my childhood, my adolescence, and my motherhood. I have taken my toddlers out on walks with me. I have tried to pass on my knowledge of plants to my children. I know which plants are edible, which are harmful and which have medicinal uses. My father also taught me how to use plants as indicators, as a compass is used. By using rocks, the positions of plants, wind and hills, you can find your way back. I have learned the use of these indicators through trial and error. - Excerpted from Walking with Aalasi: An Introduction to Edible and Medicinal Arctic Plants.