Center for Traditional Medicine

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Sacred Tobacco Part 1

Sacred Tobacco Part 1

September 17, 2026

Part one of a three-part series exploring sacred tobacco in Indigenous communities: uncover how colonial extractivism and Big Tobacco’s commercialization distorted its sacred role, setting the stage for cultural and spiritual reclamation through ancestral teachings in the following posts.

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Grief and Mourning Across Cultures and Religions

Grief and Mourning Across Cultures and Religions

January 2, 2026

An exploration of how death, grief, and mourning are experienced across religions and cultures, examining customs, protocols, and healing practices, and highlighting the ways people find comfort and restoration through support and ceremonial rites that revere the cycle of life.

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The Power of Fermentation: Boost Nutrition, Reduce Toxins, and Enhance Herbs

The Power of Fermentation: Boost Nutrition, Reduce Toxins, and Enhance Herbs

December 30, 2025

Fermentation is a time-honored practice used across traditional medicine systems to enhance digestion, nutrient absorption, and therapeutic effects of foods and herbs. This article explores research evidence on fermented foods, probiotics, and psychobiotics, alongside cultural knowledge and a practical herbal tepache recipe.

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Collective Wounds, Collective Healing: Unpacking Trauma Transfer Across Generations

Collective Wounds, Collective Healing: Unpacking Trauma Transfer Across Generations

November 14, 2025

Explore how intergenerational trauma affects Indigenous communities, the biological imprint of historical trauma, and the transformative role of collective healing, cultural connection, and resilience across generations.

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Healing the Colonized Body: From Fight or Flight to Tend and Befriend

Healing the Colonized Body: From Fight or Flight to Tend and Befriend

November 14, 2025

Discover how relational healing, oxytocin, and the tend-and-befriend stress response expand traditional biomedical models and support trauma recovery, resilience, and holistic well-being.

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Herbal Medicine for Hypoglycemia and Type 2 Diabetes

Herbal Medicine for Hypoglycemia and Type 2 Diabetes

August 28, 2025

Traditional practices, such as drinking cinnamon tea, once helped protect against diabetes in Mexico; however, modern diets have shifted these traditions. Managing blood sugar is essential for well-being, and herbs such as ginseng, bitter melon, fenugreek, and neem continue to offer support, reflecting the wisdom of ancestral plant medicine.

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Artemisia ludoviciana (Estafiate) in Indigenous and Modern Medicine

Artemisia ludoviciana (Estafiate) in Indigenous and Modern Medicine

August 28, 2025

Estafiate has long been central to Indigenous medicine in Mexico, valued for treating digestive and respiratory ailments, while also playing a key role in ceremony and cosmology. Documented in early codices and still widely used today, estafiate reflects the resilience of Indigenous knowledge and its ongoing dialogue with modern science.

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