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/>.