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Native American Herbal Remedies

By Reyna Flor Nadera

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 12Oct2009 Word count: 452 Viewed: 271 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Without advanced medicine in the time of the American Indians, they had to create their own way of solving medical ailments. Most medical problems were solved with herbs. This article discusses several ailments that could be treated by herbs.

All the Native Americans had to treat wounds and ailments were herbs that they found and harvested. Certain herbs were used to treat assortments of things. There would be select members of the tribe that were dubbed healers. These tribe members would be the "doctors" of the tribe. If someone got hurt or needed medical attention, they would go to the healer.

Herbal remedies can be used for many things. One of the most basic things is colds. The Cree Indians use Aspen bark infusion for a cough remedy. The Flambeau Ojibwa use wild cherry bark for colds and coughs. A common remedy was white pine bark. This was used by many tribes and was more common. Sarsaparilla was used by the Penobscots. They dried the roots and mixed them with sweet flag roots. They then brewed the roots in warm water and used the liquid as the treatment. Native hemlock bark tea was used by the Monominees to relieve cold symptoms and fevers. The Onondagas used a tea made of pennyroyal leaves to cure headaches. Willow bark was used by the Pomo tribe to promote sweating to cure fevers and chills. The Cherokees drank feverwort to cure fevers as well.

Insect bites and stings are another common ailment that was treated with Native American herbal remedies. The Navajos used Fendler Bladderpod to treat spider bites. Purple coneflower was used by the Plains Indians to treat all types of insect bite. The Meskwaki Indians of Minnesota used stiff goldenrod lotion on bee stings. Many tribes used chewed trumpet honeysuckle leaves on bee stings. The Dakota and Winnebago tribes used crushed onion or garlic on bites to relieve the sting. Chewed saltbrush stems were used by Navajos to reduce swelling caused by insect bites. A popular remedy for bee stings was the wet tobacco leaves applied directly to the bite.

Respiratory ailments were another problem when it came to Native American medicine. Asthma was treated by the Winnebago and Dakota tribes with skunk cabbage. This helped the removal of phlegm produced by asthma. Bronchitis was commonly treated by creosote bush leaf tea. The Natchez treated bronchitis with the Pleurisy root. They made a tea out of the roots to promote the expulsion of phlegm. Wormwood leaf tea was used by the Yokia Indians of Mendocino County to cure bronchitis.

In conclusion, there are many Native American herbal remedies. The most common ailments that herbal remedies can treat are colds, insect bites, and respiratory illnesses.

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