NATIVE AMERICAN HERBS & THEIR USES | Jane Warkentien

All plants are our brothers and sisters. They talk to us and if we listen, we can hear them. – Arapaho.

Did you ever wonder what different herbs were used for?  This directory of Native American, Alaskan, and Hawaiian herbs are listed from A to Z and what the herb treated.  Some herbs have been used for thousands of years and some are still being used today. 

Native Americans (including Hawaiian and Alaskan tribes) use of herbs as their medicine goes back thousands of years.  They used herbs for their physical body, their spirit and to bring balance back to their lives. The herbs were also included in rituals, ceremonies, and symbolism as part of the healing process.  Some say the oral traditions indicate that they learned about the healing powers of herbs and other plants by watching sick animals. They gathered the herbs from their region grinding and mixing herb, roots, and other natural plants to create their healing formulations for the medical issue.  Our Indian brothers and sisters had to be able to treat Warriors wounded in battle as well as a plethora of medical issues that they encountered.

This library contains herbs they used plus what it treated.  This is a directory of the herbs and what they were used for.  There are 456 line items.  For example:  Black Cohosh addresses aches, arthritis, cough, expectorant, headache, migraine, mild hypertension, menstrual symptoms, menstrual cramps & pain, nervous conditions, night sweats, pain, PMS, respiratory problems, rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, tinnitus, sciatica, vaginal problems, varicose veins and vertigo.  (See the disclaimer in the references).