Traditional Medicine and Caribou

How Caribou Was Used in Traditional Medicine

By Dorothy Q, Frances,

And Meagan Mariq

Traditional Medicine and Caribou

Caribou was very useful for Inuit in the old days

Caribou was used for traditional medicine in different ways

Caribou Vertebrates Vertebrates of a

caribou backbone were used to treat stomach aches

If someone had a stomach ache they would burn a vertebrate and eat it.

Caribou Vertebrates Caribou bones can

also be used for splints so that a person’s broken bone will be straightened and will heal better

Caribou Skin Sometimes part of the stomach were used

for headaches A piece of caribou skin could be used as a

headband to relieve headaches, too

How was caribou used for medicine and healing?

If someone had a cut they would peel off some of the caribou skin, wet it a little and put it on the cut

It would take 2 or 3 days to heal

How else was caribou used for medicine and healing?

Dried meat was chewed for sore throats

Caribou fat was given to babies with diarrhea

Were there doctors in the old days?

Sometimes shaman were considered to be doctors because they healed sick people

Inuit had their own medicine using plants and animals

Most people knew how to heal sickness using plants and animals from the land

Do people still use caribou parts for medicine and healing?

Elders say that people will only use caribou parts for medicine only if they don’t have a modern first aid kit.

These are layers of skins from a real caribou. They were used for bandages in the old days

Thank You