The Four Sacred Medicines (Tobacco, Cedar, Sage & Sweetgrass) have a historical and continuing cultural value to the spirit, physical & emotional well-being of native peoples.
What are the 4 sacred medicines?
Three other plants, sage, cedar and sweetgrass, follow tobacco, and together they are referred to as the four sacred medicines. The four sacred medicines are used in everyday life and in ceremonies. All of them can be used to smudge with, though sage, cedar and sweetgrass also have many other uses.
What is Native American medicine?
History. Native American medicine refers to the combined health practices of over 500 nations. The specific practices varied among tribes but all is based on the basic principle that man is part of nature and health is a matter of balance.
What did Native Americans use for pain relief?
Native Americans chewed willow bark (shown above) to soothe aches and pains. The active ingredient in the bark is salicin, a chemical that in 1897 formed the basis of the discovery of aspirin, the most commonly used drug in the world.
What did indigenous people use for medicine?
Plant medicines are used more frequently than those derived from animals. In all, Indigenous peoples have identified over 400 different species of plants (as well as lichens, fungi and algae) with medicinal applications.
Can you smoke Sweet grass?
Sweet grass also has many medicinal properties. It can be dried and made into tea that is used to treat coughs, sore throats and fevers. Inhalation on the smoke will also help cure the common cold.
Why is cedar a sacred medicine?
Cedar is the third Sacred Medicine and occupies the Northern door of the Medicine Wheel. Like Sage, Cedar can also be used to purify the home. Cedar is connected to safety and protection. It is often used in sweat lodge ceremonies as a way to offer healing and protection to the ceremony and its participants.
What is a medicine woman called?
Noun. A traditional (prescientific) faith healer. shaman. sorcerer.
What did Indians use for inflammation?
Cedar is used in sweat lodges and is often used in smudging. Western Red Cedar leaves have long been a popular internal and external medicine for painful joints among Coastal Native Peoples.
What do the four colors of the medicine wheel mean?
The four colors (black, white, yellow, and red) embody concepts such as the Four Directions, four seasons, and sacred path of both the sun and human beings.
What medicines did the Cherokee use?
Cherokee Medicine
Some common herbs used by the Cherokee as well as other Native American tribes were boneset tea, as a remedy for colds, while wild cherry bark was used for coughs, sore throat, and diarrhea. To ease the pain during childbirth and speed the delivery process, Blue Cohosh root was used in a tea.
What did Indians use for birth control?
Oral Contraceptives
The Shoshone and Navajo tribes used stoneseed, also known as Columbia Puccoon (Lithospermum ruderale) as an oral contraceptive, long before the pharmaceutical industry developed birth control pills.
What are two Native American healing practices?
Traditional healing practices include:
Sweat Lodge. Smudging and purification. Talking Circle. Songs and drumming.
What 4 plants are used for medicinal purposes in Aboriginal spirituality?
10 The most common sacred medicines used by First Nations in Alberta for ceremonies are tobacco, cedar, sage, sweetgrass and diamond willow fungus.
What are traditional healing practices?
Traditional healing practices include not only medicinal substances of natural origin but also items like magic (sorcery), charms, incantations, religious verses, spiritual methods, amulets, sacrifices, rituals, and even invasive physical and mental torture [6].
What is sage used for in medicine?
Sage has a long history of use as a spice and for health purposes. It was used as a traditional herbal remedy in ancient Greece and Rome, as well as in Native American and Chinese medicine. Today, sage is promoted for sore mouth or throat, memory loss, diabetes, high cholesterol levels, and other conditions.
What does sweetgrass do spiritually?
Sweetgrass is used in smudges, healing or talking circles because it has a healing effect – its smoke is believed to purify thoughts, the environment and eliminate bad or negative thoughts.
What did the natives use white sage for?
Smoke from white sage (Artemesia califoncia) is used for purification of mind, body and spirit and sacred articles in advance of prayers and ceremonies. White sage is burned for meditation, smudging and cleansing of spirit and dwelling.
Where do I find sweetgrass?
Where can I find it? Although Sweetgrass is typically associated with Prairie landscapes, it is a plant that can exist across North America and Northern Europe below the Arctic Circle. In North America it grows regionally from Labrador to Alaska and south to Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Arizona, New Jersey and Washington.
Is cedar tea safe to drink?
Cedar leaves contain thujone, which can be toxic in large amounts, so stick to about 1 cup per week. Children 5 years or older can drink a weak preparation of this tea.
Can you boil cedar and drink it?
The Cedar tree has many practical and medicinal uses. Cedar is offered to the sacred fire during sweat lodge ceremonies, burned during prayers and, when boiled, can purify indoor air and be used for cedar baths. As a tea, it can help to reduce fevers, rheumatic symptoms and relieve symptoms of chest colds and the flu.