Native American Medicine Essay

Native Americans have a long history of using native plants, berries, herbs, and trees for a wide variety of medicinal purposes. Native Americans have been using these methods for thousands of years.

According to Kathy Weiser on Legends of America:

When early Europeans arrived in the United States more than 500 years ago, they were surprised to see Native Americans recovering from illnesses and injuries that they considered fatal. In many ways, the Indians' herbal remedies were far superior to those known to the new immigrants. But, for the Native Americans, they had no remedies for the "diseases of civilization," or white man's diseases, such as measles and small pox, which would wipe out thousands of them over the next few centuries. Not

only lost were these many Native Americans, but also, bodies of knowledge that went to the grave with healers (2015).
Most of the plants were gathered from the surrounding territory, but there were some that had to be traded over a long distance because they were unavailable to the local area. The major difference between Native American healing and conventional medicine, both in the past and present, is the role of spirituality in the healing process. Native Americans believe that all things in nature are connected and that spirits can promote health or cause illness. Therefore, it is necessary to heal not only the physical parts of an individual, but also their emotional wellness, and their harmony with their community and the environment around them (Weiser, 2015).
Tobacco was one of the most sacred herbs used for Native American remedies. Tobacco has been very important to Native Americans for years. Native Americans used as an offering to the Spirits before all religious ceremonies. Tobacco was also used for rituals and social affairs. The leaves have long been used to treat pain, colic, kidney problems, dropsy, fever, worms, convulsions, toothache, as an antidote for poison, skin conditions, boils, tuberculosis, vertigo, and to treat insect and snakebite (Weiser, 2012). Sage was also an important herb for Native Americans to use. People have been cooking with sage for thousands of years and like other culinary herbs, it has long been thought to be a digestive aid and appetite stimulant. It has also been used for a variety of other medical conditions including flatulence, abdominal cramps, bloating, spasms, bleeding, diarrhea, colds and flu, cuts, bruises, irregular menstruation, tuberculosis, stomach ache, excessive perspiration, and to aide in childbirth. It has also been helpful in menstrual cramps, to stop breast-milk production, menopause symptoms, cough, throat infections, and dandruff (Weiser, 2012).
Though the list of medicinal herbs that might be carried in a Healer's medicine bundle are many and varied, those that were most often used were frequently carried such as remedies for common colds which might include American Ginseng or Boneset; herbs for aches and pains including Wild Black Cherry, Pennyroyal, and Hops; remedies for fever, including Dogwood, Feverwort, and Willow Bark (Weiser, 2012).
According to Weiser on Legends of America:
Today, the tide of medical theory has begun to swing back towards an approach that recognizes and respects every aspect of the individual, including his or her mental and spiritual states. As a result, Native American medical practices are once again becoming popular with natives and non-natives alike. Many are concerned about the toxicity, addictive properties, and side effects of pharmaceutical products and are turning to natural herbal remedies. Quality Native American products have often been developed and used over many centuries to deal with various illnesses. While not universally true, herbal remedies tend to be far less toxic and have far fewer disagreeable side effects than many prescription drugs (2015).
Along with medicine, Native Americans’ healing process is very spiritual.

A spiritual ritual would be performed while the ill received medicine. A spiritual ritual would be performed to rid the ill of bad spirits and cleanse the spirit. Native Americans believed that a person became ill when a bad spirit entered the body. It is the shaman’s job to try to purify the ill’s spirit. Every tribe across the nation has a shaman. A shaman or medicine man/woman would perform this ritual. A shaman uses the spiritual world to help heal the sick. Shaman were highly regarded as chiefs and tribal spiritual leaders. Shaman were often born into a family with many generations of shaman. Shamans who were not born into, they had visons that lead them to study medicine. Being the shaman was a full-time job. In return of their services to the tribe, the tribe would provide food, shelter, and any assistance needed to the shaman.

The role of the shaman was different from tribe to tribe. There are common roles that all shaman shared. Shaman were communicators. The shamans would provide advice to the member of the tribe. The shamans were also known as educators. They were the keeper of certain traditions, myths and wisdom. Shaman had spiritual healing power. They possessed the ability to treat certain sicknesses caused by evil spirits. Shaman also possessed mystic abilities. They were able to communicate with spirit world. They would achieve this by leaving their own body and entering the spiritual world for

answers.
Tools were used by the healers which were made from nature, including fur, skins, bone, crystals, shells, roots, and feathers. These were used to evoke the spirit of what the tool was made of, calling for the assistance of the spirits of the tree or animal from which the tool was made (Weiser, 2015). In some instances, the shaman may enter a trance state and seek help from the “spirit guides”. In order to communicate with the spirit or consciousness of these things, the shaman will shift his or her own state of awareness. Shamans can do this through various means, such as meditation, repetitive sounds such as that of the drum or rattle, or through the help of hallucinogenic plants. The shaman will then “see” through a new set of eyes, they will see what is going on with you on a spiritual level (shamanlinks.net, 2015).
The shaman would perform ceremonies to help return a group of Native Americans to harmony. These ceremonies were not used for individual help. The shaman would perform certain rituals for individual healing. The shaman could use dancing, painting, chanting, feathers, rattles, drumming to help the individual. At times, some sacred stones were rubbed on parts of the individual’s body. There were some conditions that were generally not treated by the shaman. These usually consisted of inherited conditions, like birth defects or retardation. If the shaman believed the person was ill as a result of ill’s behavior, the shaman would not treat the person. The shaman believed it was a life lesson that must be learned.