Cultural Site Trail Stop #2

NPS Photo/A. Willingham

Quick Facts

Location:

Brooks Camp, Katmai National Park and Preserve

Amenities

1 listed

Scenic View/Photo Spot

Living off the Land

The landscape has changed over the thousands of years that humans have inhabited the region. Water levels have risen and fallen. The river has gradually changed course. Different tree species have dominated the ecosystem at various times—for instance, spruce trees had not encroached on Brooks River by 1300 AD. But oral traditions and cultural practices passed down to the descendants of Katmai’s first peoples give us more clues to the past. Alutiiq people indigenous to this region continue to use many of the local plants for food and medicine.

Food:  Wild berries such as watermelon berry, nagoonberry, cranberries, currants, blueberries, crowberries, and salmonberries are commonly harvested as a local food source in the late summer and fall. People also harvest fiddlehead ferns, Arctic dock, fireweed, and horsetail in the springtime to eat. Many of these are traditionally preserved in oil to last through the winter.

Medicine: Plants including yarrow, Labrador tea, large-leaf avens, willow, Arctic dock, cow parsnip, cranberries, birch bark, and mosses were all used to treat a variety of ailments from colds and infections, to rashes and sores, to aches and pains.

Material: In addition to food and medicine, the local plants have been used historically for building materials, tools, and toys. Cottonwood was commonly harvested for building homes, making plates, and building fires for smoking fish, while birch wood was carved into bowls, tool handles, hats, and whistles.