“Each of these plants, they all have different purposes,” said Tulalip tribal member Shane McLean. “The sage is good for individual work, for personal prayers, and the cedar is good for clearing out bad energy. Continue reading
You’d be surprised how often I get asked questions like “what is your favorite plant” and “if you could take only one plant to the moon with you, which would it be?” I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about these questions. As an ethnobotanist, a plant person, and a healer, I can’t say that I have a favorite plant, but if I had to choose…the first plant that comes to mind every single time, is the aptly named…stinging nettle. Continue reading
Years ago, I was in the bank when a local rancher’s wife walked in. She started informing both the teller and myself of her current health issues: high blood pressure, high stress leading to ulcers, and high cholesterol. Continue reading
A friend once told me that “everyone who works with plants has a miraculous story about plantain.” I have found this to be very true. I often tell the story of the little girl who burned her foot in the sweat lodge and was able to completely heal her massive, painful blisters in less than an hour. Continue reading
Once upon a street, off an old reservation road, there was a lonely desolate home. In this lonely house lived a homely, lonely old lady. She lived with her only companion a cat. The woman drank heavily to ease her loneliness and wile away her days. She drank so much her cellar had become littered with bottles from all over. She herself was not sure of where and when most of these bottles had appeared. Continue reading
