For years, I had been helping my grandmother gather herbs and make salves and medicines.
She kept telling me that when she passed on, it would be up to me to pass this knowledge on to future generations.
To me, I wasn’t doing anything more than learning about my ancestors and how they lived. I was wrong. I came from a long line of American Indians, and my grandmother was showing me the old ways. It wasn’t until I got older, did I realize how important my Indian heritage was. I was talking to a Dr. who practiced holistic health, and we were talking about my Indian heritage. I was telling her about the many herbs my grandmother had taught me to ground together to make lotions and ointments for burns, bee stings, and other problems. She taught me how to mix lard and ginger to help with sore throats, and how to make cough syrups that would really help with a cough. I learned how to make poultices to ease the lungs and natural healing for women’s health. The Doctor that practiced holistic health told me I was already a holistic health healer. The only other thing he used in his practice for people who had severe pain was marijuana. I think the only reason my grandparents didn’t use marijuana in their healing process was because we didn’t have marijuana in our area. Grandpa, however, knew all about marijuana and told me they called it loco weed. I laughed at Granma’s expression when he talked about loco weed. She didn’t want their granddaughter to think he was a pothead.