Blog
Chokecherry Medicine in Legend and Healing
August 6, 2026
Indigenous communities have relied on chokecherries for medicine, food, and tools, with its role sustaining through winter, supporting digestive and respiratory health, and providing wood and dye.
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Calm and Restore
July 30, 2026
Nervine herbs are plants used to calm the nervous system, ease anxiety, support sleep, and restore emotional balance. This blog explores nervines such as kava, valerian, passionflower, skullcap, and St. John’s wort through traditional use, community knowledge, pharmacology, and contemporary research.
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Spirit Molecules, Part 3
July 9, 2026
The healing capacity of fungi, such as psilocybin mushrooms, and certain plants, such as peyote cactus, is increasingly supported by a growing body of research. For thousands of years, peyote has offered a profound source of spiritual connection and healing. Within ceremonial contexts, it can serve as a gateway and a passage into altered states of consciousness that support reflection, insight, and restoration.
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Saffron: Medicine, Tradition, and the Women Who Sustain Its Ancient Knowledge
May 4, 2026
A look at the medicinal power of saffron, its deep history across Persia, Ayurveda, and Unani traditions, and the vital role of women whose ancestral knowledge sustains its cultivation.
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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
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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Wombs, Washes, and Wisdom
March 11, 2026
This post introduces “Wombs, Washes, and Wisdom: Translational Ethnobotany and the Plant Healing Practices of Haitian Women in the Diaspora.” The article highlights Haitian women as stewards of plant-based reproductive health knowledge and presents translational ethnobotany as a model for community-centered research and healing. It also reflects on how collaborative research can generate practical resources that benefit the communities involved.
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The Golden Root and Her Spicy Sister
March 2, 2026
Turmeric and ginger are herbs with significant anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective properties. Used for centuries in traditional medicine, they now have growing clinical research supporting their role in digestive health, metabolic balance and immune function, and mood regulation.
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Spirit Molecules, Part 2
January 29, 2026
Ibogaine, derived from the iboga plant, has been used for centuries in West African healing traditions. This post explores its cultural origins, therapeutic potential for addiction, trauma and TBI, and the importance of clinical safety and respect for Indigenous knowledge and traditions.
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