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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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Emita. Healing Hands, Cleansing Hands: An Unexpected Farewell

Emita. Healing Hands, Cleansing Hands: An Unexpected Farewell

April 8, 2026

This post introduces the article “Emita. Healing Hands, Cleansing Hands: An Unexpected Farewell,” a tribute to Ema, a forest healer whose life and work were rooted in plant medicine and spiritual ritual. Through narrative, drawings, and poetry by Randy Chung Gonzales and Lucas Nakandacare, the piece reflects on the relationship between mentor and apprentice and the quiet transmission of healing knowledge through lived experience.

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Revitalizing Kichwa Midwifery

Revitalizing Kichwa Midwifery

April 1, 2026

This post introduces the article “Revitalizing Kichwa Midwifery: Medicinal Plant Knowledge for Pregnant Women in San Martín, Peru” by Conzuelo Tapullima de Tuanama Tuanama and Laura Corradi. Centering the teachings of Kichwa midwife Mamá Conzuelo, the article explores ancestral plant knowledge, pregnancy care, and the enduring role of Indigenous midwives in sustaining community health and cultural continuity.

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Oral Testimonies of Traditional Medicine: A Kamëntša Woman’s Legacy

Oral Testimonies of Traditional Medicine: A Kamëntša Woman’s Legacy

March 27, 2026

This post introduces the article “Oral Testimonies of Traditional Medicine: A Kamëntša Woman’s Legacy”, which centers on the oral testimony of Kamëntša elder and healer Mamita Maria Dolores. The piece reflects on women’s healing knowledge, plant medicine, and cultural continuity in Colombia’s Sibundoy Valley. It offers a glimpse into the living traditions that sustain Kamëntša community life and memory.

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Skateboarding as Medicine for Indigenous Women

Skateboarding as Medicine for Indigenous Women

March 24, 2026

Skateboarding is emerging as a powerful form of embodied healing for Indigenous women, creating spaces for cultural reclamation, community building, and emotional resilience. From Bolivia to the Navajo Nation, movement becomes medicine—supporting self-expression, regulating the nervous system, and restoring connections between body, land, and community.

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The Healing Power of Māori Women’s Ancestral Mark

The Healing Power of Māori Women’s Ancestral Mark

March 16, 2026

This post introduces “The Healing Power of Māori Women’s Ancestral Mark,” by Shonelle Wana. Drawing on Mana Wahine theory and lived cultural experience, the article explores moko kauae—the traditional chin marking worn by Māori women—as an embodied expression of identity, leadership, knowledge transmission, and healing within te ao Māori.

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Nomadic Tribes and the Integration of Health, Wellness, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in India

Nomadic Tribes and the Integration of Health, Wellness, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in India

March 13, 2026

This post introduces “Nomadic Tribes and the Integration of Health, Wellness, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in India,” by Amit Rawat, Ph.D. Drawing on ethnographic research with the Raika, Van Gujjar, and Sansi communities, the article explores how nomadic groups sustain culturally rooted health systems shaped by ecological knowledge, mobility, and intergenerational learning.

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