isha shrestha, cally schulz, jake zelin, brett horowitz menominee herbal healing
TRANSCRIPT
I S H A S H R E S T H A , C A L L Y S C H U L Z , J A K E Z E L I N , B R E T T H O R O W I T Z
MENOMINEE HERBAL HEALING
HISTORY
• Call themselves Mamaceqtaw (ma-ma-chay-tau)
• Other tribes call them Menominee “wild rice people” because it’s a major source of food.
• Lived around Green Bay when the French explorer Jean Nicolet arrived there in 1634.
• 5 clans: Ancestral Bear, Eagle, Wolf, Moose, and Crane
• Hunting/fishing/gathering society that spoke Algonquin.
COSMOLOGY Cosmology• Earth Separates the upper/lower worlds. Good/evil?• Highest level=Sun• White Deer= level below Earth contributes to origins of Medicine Dance
COSMOLOGY/SHAMAN
• Mythology contains ethical meanings/connection to sacred Native American literature
• Humans have guardian spirits• Power gained from guardian through dreaming• Shamans assist in dream interpretation
ROLE OF THE SHAMAN
• At puberty, boys and girls retreated to fasting and isolation inside a wigwam
• The shaman would interpret animal meanings in dreams
• Shamans maintain high level of spiritual power
• Specialize in hunting charms, love medicines, cures for spiritual illness
• Medicine Lodges were organized to insure healthy long lives
• Knowledge of spiritual medicines and herbs were key
CONNECTION TO THE READINGS
Vine Deloria, Jr. “Two Essays”
• Key points of focus: “Isolation” from healing and respecting those who allow weaker members of the community to rely on them.
• Comparison: Menominee Medicinal/Healing Practices to visiting a doctor in a hospital.
• Healing practices were communal concepts guided by a Shaman. In this way, each person takes an active part in their healing and search for inner knowledge with the guidance of a Shaman.
• A doctor visit in the hospital often leaves most of diagnosis and treatment up to the physician. This can cause a feeling of isolation with the healing process of the individual.
USES OF HERBS
Large toothwort, Cardamine maxima• Gastrointestinal aid -
good medicine for the stomach
USES OF HERBS
Hoary puccoon, Lithospermum canescens• Sedative - compound infusion
take and rubbed on body to quite a person near convulsions
USES OF HERBS
Eastern waterleaf,
Hydrophyllum virgianianum• Analgesic – compound
decoction of root used for chest pain
• Antidiarrheal – astringent root used for flux
USES OF HERBS
great St. Johnswort, Hypericum ascyron• Kidney aid – compounded with
black-cap raspberry roots and used for kidney troubles
• Pulmonary aid – root used for weak lungs
• Tuberculosis remedy – used in first stages of consumption
USES OF HERBS
Sweetscented joepyeweed, Eupatorium purpureum• Gynecological aid – compound
decoction of root taken after childbirth “for internal healing”
• Urinary aid – plant used for diseases of the genitourinary canal
DO THESE HERBS WORK?
• According to Moerman, the author Native American Medicinal Plants: an ethnobotanical dictionary, the short answer is yes.
• However, the question is tricky.
• Asking about the effectiveness of a drug, is not a simple biological or medicinal issue but a complex problem of culture and meaning.
CONTEMPORARY USES OF HERBS
• Eupatorium purpureum• Used in many disorders of the
urino-genital passages• Similar to historical uses
• Hypericum ascyron• Not used because of endangered
status
• Hydrophyllum virgianianum • No evidence of use in present day
medicine
CONTEMPORARY USES OF HERBS
• Lithospermum canescens• Used to treat certain callous
infections
• Cardamine maxima• No evidence of use in present day
medicine
• We attempted to contact a member of the tribe to find out if any of these herbs were still used but we did not get a response.
WORKS CITED
• Deloria, Vine, and James Treat. For This Land: Writings on Religion in America. New York: Routledge, 1999. Print.
• "The McCune Collection: Leary, Stuart and Co." The McCune Collection: Home. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.mccunecollection.org/leary_stuart.html>.
• "Menominee History - Indian Country Wisconsin." Milwaukee Public Museum. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.mpm.edu/wirp/icw-153.html>.
• "Menominee Indian Tribe History." Access Genealogy: A Free Genealogy Resource. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/menominee/menomineehist.htm>.
• Moerman, Daniel E. Native American Medicinal Plants: an Ethnobotanical Dictionary. Portland, Or.: Timber, 2009. Print.
• Spearing Salmon By Torchlight, painting by Paul Kane• Welcome to the PLANTS Database | USDA PLANTS. Web. 17 Feb.
2011. <http://plants.usda.gov/java/>.