The Arctic Portal has just come across a plant portal launched by the Gwichin Social and Cultural institute. In 1997 the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute partnered up with the Aurora Researc Institute (ARI) and commenced work with Gwich’in elders on an ethnobotany project.
The outcome of this cooperation include the book titled Gwich’in Ethnobotany: Plants Used by the Gwich’in for Food, Medicine, Shelter and Tools” by Alestine Andre and Alan Fehr (2002) as well as a masters thesis titled Master’s thesis by Alestine Andre (2006) called, Nan t’aihnakwits’inahtsìh (The Land Gives Us Strength). Combined these two bodies of work form the basis for the Gwich’in ethnobotany database.
The plants in the database are divided into two categories which are by their use and by their type and guidlines or recomended on how to treat the land that offers these plants which can be seen below.
Respect for the land:
Important message from our Gwich’in Elders teachings
- Harvest all medicine plants away from roads and communities.
- Take only what you need. It is important to collect only the plant parts you need, pick selectively from different areas and take care not to over harvest from one area.
- Leave an offering for gathering special medicine plants like tamarack, juniper and white moss (reindeer lichen). You may also leave offerings for other plants as a sign of respect. Place an offering like tobacco, wooden matches, or say prayers before and while collecting plant parts. Please note to always place an offering before collecting ochre.
- Share harvested resources such as medicine plants, meat, fish, berries with those not able to obtain these resources for themselves.
- Harvest resources with care, love and respect.
Gwich’in Ethnobotany: Plants Used by the Gwich’in for Food, Medicine, Shelter and Tools” by Alestine Andre and Alan Fehr (2002)
The Akureyri Golf Club in northern Iceland was founded in 1935 and is the home to the Arctic Open Golf Tournament, which is played under the midnight sun at Midsummer Day. The Arctic Open Tournament was first held in 1986 and Players do not have to worry about darkness cramping their style because the sun barely dips below the horizon.
Many important linkages between Polar Law issues and questions are addressed in other realms of the humanities and social sciences. Many of the Arctic or Antarctic developments are a result of, or the subject of ongoing political or international relations discourses. For example, various current and emerging security issues in both areas; the adaptation or mitigation capacity-building of communities in facing their attempt to face the consequences of climate change or bi- or multi-lateral diplomacy and political controversies in the negation of outstanding legal disagreements in the Arctic; the impact of the cold war on the outcome of the Antarctic Treaty provisions (e.g., the principle of demilitarization), to name but a few. In other words, as a discipline, “Polar Law” is developing in a multi-disciplinary direction suggesting that it is of the utmost significance for the discipline to utilize information gained from, and maintain linkages with, the various cognate humanities and social sciences (e.g., Human Geography, Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, and International Relations).
The content of the textbook is developed in line with the expertise garnered from different areas of law. Thus, chapters by Koivurova, Van-derZwaag and Potts provide us with an analysis of various aspects of international environmental law and the law of sea in relation to the Arctic and the Antarctic (including matters of environmental protection, shipping and marine living resources). The chapter by Bankes provides us with a useful overview of energy resources law highlighting the relevant developments in the Arctic. The chapters by Alfredsson, Kleist, Loukacheva, and Sambo Dorough form the bedrock of the theoretical analysis undertaken here while also highlighting a number of practical examples in the areas of international and domestic human rights law and the constitutional law in the Arctic. They also touch upon the questions of self-governance, sustainable governance and indigenous peoples’ rights. The textbook also contains valuable information on regional and local economies in the Arctic (see the chapter by Larsen), political matters and international relations (see chapters by Kleist, Diatchkova and Loukacheva). Despite its comprehensive content, the textbook nevertheless leaves room for further research in the area of Polar Law and its connection to other cognate disciplines. The textbook is the first educational material of its kind in the field and can be seen as a milestone in the promotion of legal values in both the Nordic community and indeed globally.
The day ended with a barbecue out on one of the archipelagos stretching into the Oslo fjord. The event was held by the Frammuseum which is dedicated to the ship Fram and the history of Norwegian polar explorations. The trip started by Akerbryggja and included a 15 minute trip with the local ferries. The barbecue and museum exhibition were quite a success and the guest generally like the moose hotdogs that were on the menu.
After the grand opening ceremony the sessions started under the six themes. You almost feel that it is a shame that all of this is happening at once since there are always more than one interesting sessions occurring at any given moment so choosing between them is quite a challenge.
The polar Expo is located in a very large area and has almost all things polar on display ranging from small posters to massive arctic vehicles. The polar information commons were officially launched 16:15 and aims to insure that the IPY data legacy are more generally open and accessible and safely preserved for future generations.
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