Alaska Plants as Food & Medicine Symposium

The goal of the Alaskan Plants as Food and Medicine Symposium (APFM) is to bring stakeholders and learners together to promote traditional plant knowledge and ethical harvesting. As the reliance upon imported foods has increased over recent generations and as educational dynamics have shifted, a gap in the knowledge, skills, and practice related to Alaskan plants as food and medicine has widened.

By using Alaskan plants as food and medicine among Alaska Native communities families will once again:

• Have a higher intake of nutrient dense foods,
• Engage in higher levels of physical activity,
• Enjoy improved mental health (by connecting with culture and environment, and by increasing self-sufficiency), and
• Sustain more natural resources.

ANTHC operates with the belief that the answers to our communities’ challenges lie in the communities themselves. We promote dialogue with indigenous knowledge and facilitation methods. Alaska Native elders and traditional healers have guided the development of the APFM symposium from the beginning.

The 4th Annual Alaskan Plants as Food and Medicine Symposium will take place in the Anchorage area June 22 – 24, 2014. This year we are excited to host a Solstice Community Celebration June 21, 2015. We strive for a statewide reach, and encourage participation from a diverse range of community roles; traditional healers, medical providers, public health educators and researchers, instructors, culture/language bearers, elders and youth, tribal leaders, traditional hunter/gatherers, policy makers, and lands management officials.