Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 16, 2006 13:57:26 GMT -5
Sharing traditional herbal knowledge
By S.J. Wilson The Observer
FLAGSTAFF - Sometimes you need look no farther than your own back yard
for healing.
This is a topic Phyllis Hogan and Mae Wero have discussed for years.
Wero is a Senior Health Educator with the Navajo Nation Health Education
program. Hogan is a practicing ethnobotanist, a person who studies the
plant lore particular to a group of people. On July 9, Hogan, who is the
director of the Arizona Ethnobotanical Research Association, led Wero
and 24 other Navajo Nation health educators on a walk through one of
Flagstaff's "back yards," Buffalo Park.
In the '30s and '40s Buffalo Park used to be an open-air zoo featuring
different animals including-of course-buffalos. The hay that was fed to
these animals brought in the seeds of a lot of weedy plants that many
people consider weeds. To others these are important medicinal plants.
The purpose of the conference of Navajo health care workers was to give
them different perspectives on health care said Wero. "I met Phyllis 15
years ago," Wero said, indicating that their relationship of shared
knowledge and friendship is an enjoyable one. The plant identification
walk was only part of the conference.
"We have also scheduled events such as different exercises to perform
for stress relief, a visit by a traditional Navajo medicine man, and
even a visit to the Cancer Center," Wero said. But she was enthusiastic
about getting out of the office and taking a walk on a beautiful summer
morning to enter the plant kingdom.
Calochortus, a member of the Liliaceae family, was in full bloom. This,
Hogan shared, was an example of survival food. The root resembles wild
garlic or onion, and bears an edible bulb. Several participants pointed
out that a similar flower grows in their yards on the reservation, but
they are yellow. Hogan said that the plants were indeed from the same
family, but that some plants in the lily family are poisonous.
Laughing, Hogan said that like many foods she would classify as
"survival" food, the bulb of the Calochortus, or Mariposa Lily, might
not suit the modern palate. As Hogan, Wero, and other participants stood
around a currant bush, munching on berries, Hogan said that a good rule
of thumb to follow is to never eat a white berry.
Another bush the group discussed was the lemonade-berry bush. The
berries can be eaten or soaked to prepare a tasty and refreshing drink -
its common name comes from the fact that it really does resemble
lemonade in taste. But there were healing herbs and plants as well.
Mullein, a bi-annual plant, is said to relieve breathing problems, and
in some cultures, is used to ward of evil spirits, said Jill Dedera, the
assistant director of the AERA. Its leaves are used in tobacco mixes,
and a tea of this plant produces a mild expectorant.
Another plant, wild lettuce, is good for headaches and pain. Yet another
is used to stay internal bleeding. Participants in the walk were very
enthusiastic about learning that others in different areas used certain
plants for the same purpose and were interested in learning how others
used them. Hogan said that there are more than 500 plants in the Navajo
herbology, and said that she has long admired the Navajo concept of
balance.
"It is the most complete healing discipline I have experienced," she
said. "It is good that we are all learning and working together to
protect the environment." The drought has changed the picture of plant
collecting in Northern Arizona. Hogan has encouraged and worked with
organic growers to obtain many of the herbs that she needed. The flip
side is that many drought-resistant plants are out in full force in
certain areas, Buffalo Park being one such location. Hogan is also on
the board of the Tucson-based Native Seed Search, working to save
heirloom seeds. Native Seed Search also provides indigenous seeds to
Native American farmers. For example, the group has provided Hopi
farmers with seeds for gourds and beans that had almost died out.
Afterward, a discussion of ethics revealed that Hogan never harvests on
the slopes of Doko'o'sliid (San Francisco Peaks), feeling that only
indigenous herbalists and medicine people should gather plants there.
Instead, she has found other places - like Buffalo Park - to gather.
There are ethics involved in picking and Hogan explained. Hogan has
spent the last 25 years of her life dedicated to herbal healing. She has
respectfully studied with elders of different indigenous communities,
including Spanish American, Yaqui, Hopi and Navajo. One of her principal
teachers was Hosteen Sam Boone. Two of his daughters continue his work
as herbalists. Addressing the concern among Native America that
non-Indians often "steal" Native American practices, Hogan said that the
Arizona Ethnobotanical Research Association works to document the uses
of different plants and is funded through her company, Winter Sun, as
well as an annual conference and an occasional fund-raiser. Much of her
work has been at the invitation of different native communities, and she
is known for her practices of giving back to the communities and friends
who host her. Hogan said she especially loves going into community
schools and working with children. She said she is still learning, and
thanked participants for sharing knowledge with her.
"It's really an honor to be here taking a walk with you in our back
yard, Hogan said. "Maybe one day, you'll invite us to take a walk in
yours."
www.navajohopiobserver.com/NAVAJOHOPIOBSERVER/sites/NAVAJOHOPIOBSERVER/0167edition/myarticles790167.asp?P=790167&S=392&PubID=11013
By S.J. Wilson The Observer
FLAGSTAFF - Sometimes you need look no farther than your own back yard
for healing.
This is a topic Phyllis Hogan and Mae Wero have discussed for years.
Wero is a Senior Health Educator with the Navajo Nation Health Education
program. Hogan is a practicing ethnobotanist, a person who studies the
plant lore particular to a group of people. On July 9, Hogan, who is the
director of the Arizona Ethnobotanical Research Association, led Wero
and 24 other Navajo Nation health educators on a walk through one of
Flagstaff's "back yards," Buffalo Park.
In the '30s and '40s Buffalo Park used to be an open-air zoo featuring
different animals including-of course-buffalos. The hay that was fed to
these animals brought in the seeds of a lot of weedy plants that many
people consider weeds. To others these are important medicinal plants.
The purpose of the conference of Navajo health care workers was to give
them different perspectives on health care said Wero. "I met Phyllis 15
years ago," Wero said, indicating that their relationship of shared
knowledge and friendship is an enjoyable one. The plant identification
walk was only part of the conference.
"We have also scheduled events such as different exercises to perform
for stress relief, a visit by a traditional Navajo medicine man, and
even a visit to the Cancer Center," Wero said. But she was enthusiastic
about getting out of the office and taking a walk on a beautiful summer
morning to enter the plant kingdom.
Calochortus, a member of the Liliaceae family, was in full bloom. This,
Hogan shared, was an example of survival food. The root resembles wild
garlic or onion, and bears an edible bulb. Several participants pointed
out that a similar flower grows in their yards on the reservation, but
they are yellow. Hogan said that the plants were indeed from the same
family, but that some plants in the lily family are poisonous.
Laughing, Hogan said that like many foods she would classify as
"survival" food, the bulb of the Calochortus, or Mariposa Lily, might
not suit the modern palate. As Hogan, Wero, and other participants stood
around a currant bush, munching on berries, Hogan said that a good rule
of thumb to follow is to never eat a white berry.
Another bush the group discussed was the lemonade-berry bush. The
berries can be eaten or soaked to prepare a tasty and refreshing drink -
its common name comes from the fact that it really does resemble
lemonade in taste. But there were healing herbs and plants as well.
Mullein, a bi-annual plant, is said to relieve breathing problems, and
in some cultures, is used to ward of evil spirits, said Jill Dedera, the
assistant director of the AERA. Its leaves are used in tobacco mixes,
and a tea of this plant produces a mild expectorant.
Another plant, wild lettuce, is good for headaches and pain. Yet another
is used to stay internal bleeding. Participants in the walk were very
enthusiastic about learning that others in different areas used certain
plants for the same purpose and were interested in learning how others
used them. Hogan said that there are more than 500 plants in the Navajo
herbology, and said that she has long admired the Navajo concept of
balance.
"It is the most complete healing discipline I have experienced," she
said. "It is good that we are all learning and working together to
protect the environment." The drought has changed the picture of plant
collecting in Northern Arizona. Hogan has encouraged and worked with
organic growers to obtain many of the herbs that she needed. The flip
side is that many drought-resistant plants are out in full force in
certain areas, Buffalo Park being one such location. Hogan is also on
the board of the Tucson-based Native Seed Search, working to save
heirloom seeds. Native Seed Search also provides indigenous seeds to
Native American farmers. For example, the group has provided Hopi
farmers with seeds for gourds and beans that had almost died out.
Afterward, a discussion of ethics revealed that Hogan never harvests on
the slopes of Doko'o'sliid (San Francisco Peaks), feeling that only
indigenous herbalists and medicine people should gather plants there.
Instead, she has found other places - like Buffalo Park - to gather.
There are ethics involved in picking and Hogan explained. Hogan has
spent the last 25 years of her life dedicated to herbal healing. She has
respectfully studied with elders of different indigenous communities,
including Spanish American, Yaqui, Hopi and Navajo. One of her principal
teachers was Hosteen Sam Boone. Two of his daughters continue his work
as herbalists. Addressing the concern among Native America that
non-Indians often "steal" Native American practices, Hogan said that the
Arizona Ethnobotanical Research Association works to document the uses
of different plants and is funded through her company, Winter Sun, as
well as an annual conference and an occasional fund-raiser. Much of her
work has been at the invitation of different native communities, and she
is known for her practices of giving back to the communities and friends
who host her. Hogan said she especially loves going into community
schools and working with children. She said she is still learning, and
thanked participants for sharing knowledge with her.
"It's really an honor to be here taking a walk with you in our back
yard, Hogan said. "Maybe one day, you'll invite us to take a walk in
yours."
www.navajohopiobserver.com/NAVAJOHOPIOBSERVER/sites/NAVAJOHOPIOBSERVER/0167edition/myarticles790167.asp?P=790167&S=392&PubID=11013