Native American Herbal Medicine
In respect to Native Americans this November, this week’s blog will shine light on all the remedies, rituals, and ways of being that we have learned from our nation’s Indigenous people. Native Americans took every step and every breath as a way to connect with mother nature and lived in harmony with all that around them.
Aside from plant medicine and herbal remedies, Native Americans understood the importance of spirituality, community, and balance as being the seeds in the dirt in which health is built upon.
“When we are in harmony with the earth and the people around us, our cells are in harmony within us. Its disharmony that creates cellular degeneration and disease” -Medial Director of the Center of Complementary Medicine at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and author of Coyote Medicine.
H e a t
The next time you step into a hot yoga class, post-workout sauna, or a steam room, know that indigenous people understood this massive benefit of sweat first.
“Give me fever and I can cure any disease”-Hippocrates. A fever has the ability to slow or halt progression or viruses and bacteria, stimulate the immune system, and increase the production of white blood cells and interferon
Sweat lodges, domes made from tree saplings or wood, were frequently utilized for halting illness and purifying the body
Massage was often performed in a sweat lodge to increase the benefits, along with the uses of valerian, animal fats witch hazel, sea algae, and onions
After a sweat lodge, cold plunges in natural springs were done to counterbalance the heat and stimulate the body
These practices are strikingly similar to a modern day spa, yet it was all done based on intuition. It is important to remember that there was a spiritual component to all of this, whereas nowadays spas, hot yoga, and saunas and typically viewed as purely physical.
To fully reap the benefits, try utilizing a hot shower as a chance to meditate, and end with 30 seconds of cold water.
M o v e m e n t
As discussed in my past blog on how depression and anxiety is stored in the body, modern medicine is just recently starting to catch up to the fact that there is a mind body connection.
In Indigenous cultures, this was always known. Perhaps it was always known because of the way in which they studied and lived so closely alongside animals. Animals understand that in order to release stress and fear, you have to go through the body. This is why birds ruffle their feathers and dogs shake.
Ceremonies were always accompanied by singing and dancing. These were forms of prayer and helped the body to release trapped energy that can cause illness
Referred to in physics as nonlocality, actions taking place in one locality can instantly affect actions in other localities.This also refers to the concept of entanglement, in which particles that interact with each other become permanently correlated, behaving as a single entity. In regards to a ceremony, chanting and drumming restores the frequency of organs that are unwell, by changing the frequency through music as it travels through your ears.
Adding to the concept of entanglement, it is believed that any action taken by the earth, animals, ancestors, or more, will affect us and vice versa. “Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it, such that whatever he does to the web, he does to himself”- Chief Seattle
Music therapy has been shown to help people who suffer from Alzheimers, chronic pain, sleep disorders, and more.
N u t r i t i o n
Food was not viewed as merely a means to end in survival, nor was it packed with salt and sugar and viewed as purely pleasure. Food was energy, life force, religious, and deeply important. How we treat our bodies is how we treat the earth, and how we treat the earth is how we treat our bodies.
Gathered wild and also cultivated their own vegetables. Very diverse, rich in fiber, yet in season always. Cultivation and harvest was a form of ceremony, and what was taken from the earth was always given back ten fold.
Meat was always wild game, which is more lean than modern day meats in the grocery store. In addition, it was hunted and cooked fresh
Believed in eating lightly when ill, as heaviness impedes the bodies ability to heal
Three Sisters Soup is a wonderful example of a Native dish. Referring to the 3 main crops: corn, squash, and beans. These crops grow together and have a symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship. “The corn sprouts from the soil first and is on its way to growing tall when the bean seedling appears and begins its own journey towards the sun. The bean vine climbs the corn stalk without damaging or decreasing the corn’s vitality. At the base of the corn stalk the squash plants grows big and wide, shading the soil and holding moisture in”- source
In order to find ways to incorporate this type of eating into your life, put intention behind your food. If you are eating animals, think of the source. Thank them for their life, try and go to a local butcher. Grow your own crops. If you are able, growing your own vegetables allows you to form a deeper connection with the soil and earth around you, and the process and patience it requires to nurture a being.
P l a n t M e d i c i n e
Our bodies are made up of the same compounds as plants and we all have the same life force. Therefore, why would it be so hard to believe they can balance us? What we lack in disease, there is a plant out there that can balance and heal us. Native Americans knew this, and more and more practitioners today are beginning to understand it. Instead of relying on a medicine, we can empower and work with our bodies to heal themselves.
Before the arrival of Europeans, there were roughly 500 tribes in North America who shared herbs and remedies with each other. In fact, more than 25% of modern medicines today have active compounds derived from or chemically similar to those found naturally in plants. A prime example is aspirin having an almost chemically identical active compound to Willow Bark, Salicin, yet without the complications.
I am going to list some Native American herbs that have substantial benefits for women’s health specifically. As always, do your own research and consult with a Naturopathic Physician on what would work best for you and in what dose.
Black Cohosh
Dubbed the “female fortifier”
Reduce hot flashes, sweating, headaches, vertigo, heart palpitations, tinnitus, and more symptoms of menopause
Painful/delayed menstruation, childbirth (ability to relax uterine walls)
One teaspoon of dried root in boiling water as a tea, simmer 15 min
Black Haw
Commonly called “cramp bark”
Menstrual cramps. Number of chemicals that work as uterine antispasmodics/relaxants
Can also assist with stomach pain and diarrhea
Put an ounce in boiling water as a tea, simmer 20 -30 min
Dandelion
Topical antiseptic for wounds, brewed tea for a laxative/upset stomach, believed to cleanse the kidneys, bladder, liver, and spleen
Iron, potassium, phosphorus, vitamins A, B, C, D, and lecithin which aids liver disease
200 mg of calcium in just 10 g of leaves. Very helpful in preventing osteoporosis, especially if on hormonal birth control and not ovulating. Also has boron and silicon!
***also Horsetail has strong evidence to prevent and aide in relieving osteoporosis for its exceptionally high content of silicon and calcium. Add sugar to this tea to help release silicon
Hops
Tea can be used for anxiety, insomnia, nervousness, indigestion, and menstrual cramping
Strong sedative ability shown in modern research
Teaspoon of dried flowers to boiling water, simmer 10-15 min
Strong use as a sleep aid 30 min before bed
Lady’s Slipper
Painful menstrual cramping, childbirth, insomnia, hysteria, etc.
2 teaspoons of dried root to boiling water, steep for 10-15 min
Licorice
Cough, sore throat, fever, menstrual cramps, IBS, flu, chronic fatigue, lymes disease, depression, etc.
1 teaspoon in boiling water, steep 10 min
Peppermint
A most cherished medicine. Used for digestion, fever, stomach pain, menstrual cramps, colds, appetite, etc.
Reduces swelling and soothes painful joints
Sniff it for headaches and concentration
Menthol is the active ingredient in peppermint, shown to increase stomach’s output of gastric juices, inflammation, fever, and more
Tea, fresh leaves, oil, etc.
Raspberry
Nausea, inflammation, IBS, childbirth, menstrual cramping, etc.
Helps to regulate the surges of hormones in women during menstruation and childbirth
Strengthen and tones the tissue of the womb
Strongly antibacterial
2 teaspoons In boiling water, steep 10-15 min
Squaw Weed
“Life root”
Ease cramping and childbirth
Valerian Root
May be the “world’s first tranquilizer”
Used to steady nerves in WWII
Muscle cramping, menstrual cramping, anxiety, insomnia, hives, digestion, etc.
1-2 teaspoon in boiling water 10 -15 min
Watercress
Vitamins A, C, E and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, copper
Acne, ringworm, nerves, colds, upper respiratory
Can use 1 teaspoon steeped in boiling water as a tea or topically for acne
*Much of this blog is credited to the novel Healing Secrets of the Native Americans: Herbs, Remedies, and Practices that Restore the Body, Mind, and Spirit by Porter Shiner*
