Published by University of Canada, 2010. Development and publication of this document was made possible through a financial contribution from Indigenous Peoples! Health Research Centre (IPHRC) - Community Network Partnership Re- Gitchi Mando search Grant. The views expressed herein do not necessarily rep- resent the views of IPHRC. Miyew Gitchi Mando Miyew (Creator Given): Traditional Supports for HIV/AIDS

Gitchi Mando Miyew is the name given to this project by the Grand- 6"7#&'"*8%97( fathers to Elder Betty McKenna during a Naming Ceremony. Translation of the name in the five languages of (with credited translators/sources) are: “The Creator Gives” : Kis"-manit#w m"kiw (Jean Okimâsis, Jeff Sanderson) : Kihci-manit# m$kiw" (Margaret Cote) Nakota: W%k% T%ka wicak!u (Leona Kroeskamp) Dakota: Wakhá& Thá&ka wi'hák!u (The New Lakota Dictionary) : T!á hórëly( Nuhëyedarië nuhëbá !asié n)n)lá (Allan Adam) Cover Image: Stacey Cyr from vision given to Elder Betty McKenna Booklet Design: Michelle Biden Second Edition 2010 © First Nations University of Canada, Fidji Gendron, Michelle Biden, Lydia Thompson, Stacey Cyr, Arok Wolvengrey, Leslie McBain, Betty McKenna, Ken Goodwill, Timothy Eashappie, Walter Lavallee, Lena Tanner, Isador Pelletier, Lorraine Yuzi- cappi, Nina Wilson, Alvin Sangret First Nations University of Canada 1 First Nations Way Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, S4S 7K2 Tel: (306) 790-5950 Fax: (306) 790-5993 www.firstnationsuniversity.ca/science This document is copyrighted. It may be reprinted and distrib- uted in its entirety for non-commercial purposes without prior permission, but permission must be obtained to edit its content. !"#$%&%'(#)*+,--'"&.*/'"*0123415+ This document can be downloaded free of charge from the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network at www.caan.ca Gitchi Mando Miyew 6"7#&'"*8%97(

Thank you to the sponsors who made this project possible. Financial sponsor: Indigenous Peoples! Health Research Centre ~ Community Network Partnership Research Grant In Kind sponspors: First Nations University of Canada, AIDS Program South Saskatchewan, Regina Qu!Appelle Health Re- !"#$%&%'(#)*+,--'"&.*/'"*0123415+ gion. 1 Table of Contents Plant Medicines...... 25 The Four Sacreds...... 25 About this booklet...... 4 Tobacco...... 25 Sweetgrass...... 26 About HIV/AIDS...... 8 Cedar...... 26 What is HIV?...... 8 Sage...... 27 What is AIDS?...... 8 Other Helpful Medicines...... 28 Myths about Transmission of HIV...... 8 Plant Names in Six Languages...... 32 How is HIV Transmitted?...... 8 Getting Tested...... 10 Ceremony and HIV/AIDS...... 33 Considering Medication...... 10 What is Ceremony?...... 33 Social Determinants of Health...... 11 Personal Prayer...... 33 Moontime...... 34 Health and Wellbeing...... 12 To Honour Your Womanhood...... 34 Walking the Medicine Wheel...... 12 Pipe Ceremony...... 34 Respect...... 13 Naming Ceremony...... 34 Home Fires...... 13 Feast...... 35 Connection...... 14 Ceremony and HIV...... 35 Your Role in the Community...... 14 Just Being There...... 36 Drugs and Alcohol...... 36 Protocol with Elders...... 16 Crisis, Doubt and Purpose...... 37 Offerings...... 16 Tobacco...... 17 Contacts...... 39 Cloth...... 17 Elders...... 39 Gift...... 18 In Saskatchewan...... 39 Protocol in the words of an Elder...... 18 Need more HIV information and resources?...... 40 A Caution...... 19

People, Plants and Medicine...... 20 The Gift of Life...... 20 Traditional Medicine...... 21 Protocol for Picking Medicine...... 21 Responsibility...... 22 Preparing Medicines...... 23 Plants as Healers...... 24

2 3 ceptions and open our eyes to the stigma that threatens our communities. “Too often you see the face of HIV/AIDS as the terribly skinny person that uses drugs, when the face of HIV/AIDS can be a very beautiful, innocent child chosen by the Creator to enter this world.”

About this booklet Shifting our thoughts from fear to compassion allows us to cel- ebrate life and give strength to people living with HIV/AIDS. This booklet is about life. It is about reconnecting to each other With the gifts that each of us has been given we need to come and the natural world. By honouring our connections with each together to share our strength, knowledge and love with one other, Mother Earth, plants, animals and our ancestors, we will another. return to harmony. This booklet is meant for everybody. This project started with the intention to create a booklet about We created this booklet to make more space and open up dis- Prairie plants that can help people living with HIV/AIDS. It has cussion around Traditional Medicine, especially in regards to since evolved, and the sharing of plant medicine knowledge is HIV/AIDS. This booklet does not provide specific treatment enhanced by including: information on HIV/AIDS, health and options, rather, it contains basic information that we hope will wellbeing, protocol for seeking help from Elders, the relation- be of assistance for those wanting to learn more about Tradi- ship between people and plants, basic information about cer- tional Knowledge. emonies, and the necessity of including the community and environment in discussions of wellness. Not everyone is aware In creating this booklet we spoke with many Elders and Elder!s of his or her own access to Traditional teachings. We hope Helpers and through our discussions it became clear that that this booklet provides some guidance for those wishing to HIV/AIDS is a community issue rather than an individual issue. seek healing through Traditional ways, whether for themselves We each have a role and a responsibility in regards to HIV or their loved ones. transmission and the treatment of people living with the illness. We will all benefit by adopting a respect for people who are A community-based approach was used in the development of living with HIV/AIDS and by finding ways to support the people this booklet. In the beginning, our team met with our guiding we care about. Elders to discuss the direction of this project and the best way to begin. Then we had individual meetings with all the Elders Our communities are facing an epidemic of HIV/AIDS. The and Elder!s Helpers involved in this project to discuss how to virus itself is not the only issue. Fear and stigma of HIV/AIDS address HIV/AIDS using Traditional Knowledge. These Elders isolate an individual from his or her community and create a and Elder!s Helpers were Cree, Dakota, Nakota and Anish- silence that allows HIV/AIDS to continue to spread be- nawbe and all resided in Southern Saskatchewan at the tween people. This booklet intends to challenge our per- time. We attended ceremonies with a number of the Eld-

4 Strength Love 5 ers and prayed for guidance and support for the project. The Sincerely, meetings with our Elders and Elder!s Helpers were recorded Dr. Fidji Gendron - Assistant Professor of Biology, with permission and transcribed. Each team member received First Nations University of Canada the transcripts and we read and reflected on these before we Michelle Biden - Bachelor of Health Studies, met as a group. During our team meetings we found common University of Regina themes running through the transcripts and these eventually Lydia Thompson - CATIE Board Member, Aboriginal Liaison became the sections of this booklet. We met many times as a Home Care Worker, Regina Qu!Appelle Health Region team to discuss quotes and concepts and to decide the best Stacey Cyr - Student of Health Studies, way to share the knowledge that we received throughout this First Nations University of Canada project. Once the text was formatted into a booklet, we shared Prof. Arok Wolvengrey, Associate Professor of Linguistics, it with a number of community members, our Elders and First Nations University of Canada Elder!s Helpers and encouraged feedback and guidance. Dr. Lesley McBain, Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies, First Nations University of Canada Each community member brought a unique perspective that allowed us to expand and adjust our understanding. The Eld- With the wisdom, guidance and support of our Elders and their ers provided additional feedback and teachings and ultimately Helpers approved the project. We attended a Naming Ceremony Betty McKenna - Anishnawbe Nation where our booklet was given “Gitchi Mando Miyew” along with Ken Goodwill - Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation the image on the cover, drawn by one of our team members. Timothy Eashappie - Carry the Kettle First Nation Finally, we had a Feast to honour all the people who assisted Walter Lavallee - with this project and to give this booklet life and assistance in Lena Tanner - Piapot First Nation its future journey. Isador Pelletier - Alvin Sangret - Thunderchild First Nation We have created this booklet using teachings from our Elders Nina Wilson - Kahkewistahaw and White Bear First Nations and Elder!s Helpers, knowledge that arose from group meet- Lorraine Yuzicappi - Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation ings, and HIV/AIDS information from the Canadian AIDS Thank you to all the people who offered great feedback on the various drafts of this booklet! Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE). Direct quotes from Photos contributed by Fidji Gendron, Michelle Biden, John Hampton, Craig Scott, Robert our Elders and Elder!s Helpers appear in quotations. The Cree Cote and invasive.org (Stinging Nettle and Rat Root). tipi teachings are included at the bottom of each page for re- flection.

We hope you learn and benefit from what you read and that this will be one step towards bridging the gap between those who are seeking Traditional Knowledge and those who carry that knowledge.

Walter, Fidji, Stacey, Lydia, Michelle

6 Humility Share 7 High levels of HIV are present in these bodily fluids: • blood • cum (including pre-cum) • vaginal fluids • anal fluids • breast milk About HIV/AIDS Risky behaviours for HIV transmission include: What is HIV? (in order of high risk to lower risk) HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV is a virus 1. becoming “blood brothers” or “blood sisters” that lives in our body and attacks our immune system. Our im- 2. unprotected (anal and vaginal) sex mune system helps fight off infections so a person with HIV 3. sharing injection drug equipment, including needles will likely get much sicker from an illness than someone who 4. tattooing and body piercing with unsterilized equipment 5. unprotected oral sex has a healthy immune system. People who are infected with In the absence of quality prenatal care that includes anti-HIV HIV are referred to as HIV positive (HIV+). treatment, HIV may be transmitted from a woman to her child in the womb, during labour and delivery or through breastfeed- What is AIDS? ing. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. If HIV is not treated, the immune system becomes weaker over What you can do to reduce the risk of HIV transmission: time leaving a person vulnerable to more serious illnesses. If 1. Practise safer sex - protect yourself and your partner(s): an HIV+ person gets a serious illness (referred to as an oppor- -Use a latex or polyurethane condom or female condom tunistic infection) such as pneumonia, thrush or cancer they correctly, every time you have vaginal or anal sex are said to have AIDS. -Use a condom or dental dam correctly every time you have oral sex Myths about Transmission of HIV -Use only water-based lubricants with latex condoms You cannot get HIV by talking to, hugging, shaking hands, (Oil-based lubricants like Vaseline can weaken a latex drinking a cup of coffee, sharing dishes, crying, dancing or condom and make it break.) sweating with someone who has HIV. -Choose non-penetrative forms of sexual stimulation

How is HIV transmitted? 2. Practise Harm Reduction and safer injecting: In order for transmission to occur, three things must happen. -Use a new needle and new supplies (water, cooker, First, there must be a person who is HIV+. Second, there must filter, etc) every time you inject be an opening to the blood stream where HIV can enter the -Never share needles or supplies with anyone else body. Third, there must be a transfer of body fluids high in HIV. 3. If you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant,

8 Respect Hope 9 protect yourself and your baby from HIV: before you become sick. With good care and the right treat- -Get tested for HIV, speak to your doctor or call a ments, people with HIV can stay healthy for a long time. health centre, or public health unit. Getting tested and treated will help you and your baby stay healthy. It is a good idea to identify a health care team that you trust to -If you are a woman living with HIV, proper testing and help you maintain your health. This team of people should be treatment can greatly reduce the chance that your able to communicate with each other about your treatment baby will get the virus. Advances in HIV treatment plan. Many different types of therapy can be used and while have allowed many HIV positive women to have some treatments work well together, others can interact and healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. cause negative side effects or cancel each other out. Commu- -Do not breast-feed your baby; guidelines strongly nication between healthcare practitioners is important. encourage HIV positive mothers to use baby formula. Social Determinants of Health Getting Tested There are a number of factors that affect health that are out- If you have participated in risky behaviours for HIV transmission side the control of an individual. These need to be addressed it is a good idea to get tested for HIV. Many people do not know to improve the overall wellbeing of our communities. Factors that they are HIV+ and can pass the virus on to others without such as social support networks, economic status (poverty knowing it. You are better off knowing if you have HIV. The versus wealth), access to housing, employment, education, sooner you find out about your HIV status, the sooner you can access to nutritious food and clean water, social status, child- start taking care of your health. hood development, healthy coping strategies, access to serv- ices, and gender are important determinants that affect the You can get free testing by visiting a walk-in clinic, sexual health health of all people. clinic or your family physician. If you choose, you can be tested anonymously. An HIV test requires a series of questions fol- lowed by a blood test. You can usually get your results within one or two weeks. It is important to know there is a window pe- riod of three months between your last high-risk behaviour and the time it takes for HIV to show up on a test. You may need to get repeated testing. Considering Medication If you have tested positive for HIV you will learn about HIV drug treatment referred to as Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Treatment (HAART). This treatment requires a big commitment and a rel- This booklet does not focus on or discuss HIV treatments. atively stable life so some people choose to wait awhile before For more information on HIV, including treatments, contact starting. You may want to consider Traditional Medicine as part CATIE (Canadian HIV/AIDS Treatment Exchange). of your treatment. Whatever approach or approaches you www.catie.ca; 1-800-263-1638 choose, it is important to start taking care of your health

10 Thankfulness Control Flaps for the Wind 11 say by a burn or bad cut, the person may have a scar or a limb missing. When we look at that body and see the trauma, each individual will make compensation in their heart and their mind for that person. The universe feels this and knows that there is empathy, and it is then transmitted to that person and they get that strength and energy to help them heal. If someone has been injured mentally, we can!t see it, so that empathy Health and Wellbeing isn!t there. When someone has been hurt emotionally or spir- itually we can!t see that either. These things are like the three What does it mean to be well? What is health? These can be tree roots - the mental, the emotional, and the spiritual. They difficult concepts to grasp. The Medicine Wheel is often used are under the ground, covered by Mother Earth, so we do not as a symbol to help people understand wellness. In this con- see whether a root has been sucking up good nourishment for the tree. If any of the roots has been cut off or blocked and a text it may be used to represent the four aspects of the self: the person cannot benefit from the wellness of their walk on the mental, the spiritual, the emotional, and the physical. The circle medicine wheel, it will eventually transfer to the tree and by is an important component of all medicine wheels as it repre- the time we start to see the tree!s branches withering, the root sents the interconnection of all things. is already severely injured.” The Medicine Wheel to the right is one type of Medicine Wheel and Respect it should be noted that there are Physical “It starts with respect. We respect everything in our life. We many Medicine Wheels includ- respect everything that grows on this earth, every little creature ing ones that symbolize age, a that crawls on the ground, every blade of grass, every leaf, tribe, the Four Directions, and Emotional Mental every tree, everything! And we need to respect ourselves, and the Four Sacreds. our home fire.” Each person also has a per- sonal medicine wheel that repre- Spiritual Home Fires “Balance starts with a good home fire, with two healthy parents sents his or her journey through who walk the right road, that good road. But it!s not to say that life. At the center of your wheel is you there has to be a mother and father because sometimes we and your home fires, your home life. have to work with what we have. We balance things with our Outside of that circle is your family and friends, then your com- family and extended family. We try to help each other and munity and environment. We are all connected. support each other and to live as balanced as we can. Start Walking the Medicine Wheel with good balance and then things start to go smoothly.” “When a person is walking on the Medicine Wheel in a good way with the Creator, they are fulfilled in all aspects of the “The home has to be comfortable, some place that children medicine wheel. And for someone who isn!t, we say not want to come home to, a place you can go home to when you that they are imbalanced, but that a person grows like a are all finished everything else out there. It!s hard to do tree. We see the physical body and if the body is injured, that today, because we all work and society is so different

12 Happiness Good Child Rearing 13 than it used to be. I think it is just trying to have a respect for “For people with HIV/AIDS, part of keeping the immune sys- your home fire, respect for yourself, taking care of your re- tem so low is the fact that they are distressed, isolated, and sponsibilities, your children, your duties in your home, and lonely. People need to belong; they need family. Not neces- your own self.” sarily biological family but they need a community to fit into that says we will surround you and be family. That boosts the Connection immune system; it will actually help a person come out of the “Now I know sometime in the past you must have walked deep states of depression that people naturally fall into when around in the grass with no shoes on, and felt that connection, their immune system is low. Depression isn!t something that all right? That!s your connection between you and the Creator of a sudden happens to you. It is a slow eroding of your self- and Mother Earth. That!s that connection, that feeling that esteem and your sense of belonging, your sense of commu- we!re all connected as one. And that!s how you grow and you nity and family. When that begins to happen you have no learn, from that. But sometimes you just forget about it be- banks anymore, you know, you become a quagmire. So we cause you are so busy with life.” want to be able to build up the banks on the shore of that per- son so that they feel acceptance, belonging, part of a commu- Your Role in the Community nity, and that they are not bringing fear to their community. “We have to always be conscious when we go out into the There is a lot of, for a lack of a better word, urban myths. Well world. When we wake up every morning we ask the creator to we have reserve myths too. And we want to transcend those bless our path and help us to walk in a beauty way on this path for the people who want to be supportive, whether it is family today. We want to be a force of wellness and healing, to have or not – anyone who wants to be supportive of the AIDS pa- all of our actions extend out like ripples from a pebble dropped tient – and I say patient because at that point in time they are in water. So we start with ourselves and then wellness moves someone who needs care – physical, mental, spiritual and out to our families, then our extended family and friends, and emotional. Number one, the spiritual care that we give a per- to our communities. Once our communities are well, then we son can surround all those other types of care.” start affecting other communities and then the nation. Our fam- ily and community are also where we seek that balance. We get a lot of teachings from our kinship ties, and that!s how our life is passed on.”

When someone in our community is not well, we need to find ways to support them. We need to transcend fear and lend hope to those who need it. This may be family, but it can also be anyone who wants to be supportive by providing physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual care. We can help provide nour- ishment through healthy foods and water, we can listen and offer encouragement, we can create safe places for people to be, we can provide support for those wanting to go to cer- emonies and most importantly, remind people that this isn!t death, this is life.

14 Ultimate Protection Kinship 15 Tobacco Tobacco opens the door. When you give tobacco to an Elder you are asking for some of their time. Giving tobacco does not mean that the Elder is committing to heal you; if they accept the tobacco they are committing to listen to you. When you give tobacco, it is important that you are clear in your inten- tions and what you are asking, and that you are also commit- ted to the solution. An Elder may choose not to receive the Protocol with Elders tobacco if they cannot assist with your request and may refer you to another Elder who can. Many times we struggle along our journeys and may need to You can bring any form of to- seek help. It is through our faith that we are reminded of ex- bacco to an Elder including tended relations and helpers in the Spirit world who can share pouch tobacco, cigarettes, or strength and love with us. It is times like these when we can ties. Some Elders prefer a spe- ask an Elder to assist us with these relationships. cific type of tobacco. If you know, “I think that for a lot of people, fear keeps them away from Elders or can find out, give that type, but if not, any tobacco will do. and ceremonies. I think a lot of people think they need to un- Natural tobacco and tobacco pouches derstand and know our By putting tobacco on the land we open the door to communi- ways before they talk to cation with the spirit world. someone and that!s unfor- tunate because until they “So you always offer tobacco to get that answer. Tobacco is my start experiencing things connection. When I!m at a loss for something I always use to- and talking to the appropri- bacco and ask. I may not get the answer today, but I will get ate people they don!t ever it, maybe through the way we!re talking, someone will rattle really get to the point they something off and there!s my answer.” think they should be to ever get them to come out.” Cloth Betty, Airily, Stacey, Michelle We give cloth along with to- bacco if we want additional Offerings prayers. The colour and When approaching an Elder for assistance you need to be pre- length of the broad cloth de- pared with your offering as well as a clear idea of what you pend on what you are asking are asking for. The protocol discussed below comes from the for. If you need assistance, Elders consulted for this booklet. Protocol may vary depending ask an Elder!s helper or a on the tribe the Elder comes from. If you are unsure, consult knowledgeable person in an Elder!s helper or a knowledgeable community member your community. The more about proper protocol. In order to make connections with significant the request, the Various colours of broad cloth knowledge carriers in your area, an effort to link with com- more cloth is offered, for example, some Elders suggest munity members is important. four meters per colour when asking for healing.

16 Obedience Faith 17 Gift wanted, but tobacco would be first. And prayer cloth if they You may also want to give a gift or something to compensate wanted additional prayers to go with it. There are always the Elder with when you ask for help. A hundred years ago, prayers in the tobacco but there are also the prayers that are someone may have given a horse, rifle, or a blanket because hung with that cloth.” those things were really valuable. Today, a gift can be anything you want to give, anything you can give – consider the value It is best to be free of drugs and alcohol four days before and of what you are asking. How much does it mean to you to get four days after visiting an Elder. If you are not or are having dif- that help? Use that as a guide when you want to be healed. ficulties, inform the Elder. See the Drugs and Alcohol section The grandfathers will see how much it is worth to you. You can in Ceremony and HIV/AIDS. also give a gift of money, but be clear that this is not buying help; it is a gift to compensate the Elder using what is currently A Caution valuable. Elders need money to travel to collect medicines and “There are a lot of people that will take advantage of our ways to pay their bills. It is a way to assist an Elder so they are able to get recognition. There are some people who will ask for to continue doing what they do. money and try to push their ways on you. But, healers are just headsmen of the grandfathers and the Creator. They are there “If you are stingy with material wealth, then you will be stingy to pick the plants, load up the pipe and smudge, heal, try to ad- with your problems and hold on to them.” minister to the people the things the grandfathers instruct them to. They!re just human beings, but the difference between peo- Protocol in the Words of an Elder ple like that is that they have helpers. They!ve got grandfathers “Well my protocol for someone to approach me is always to- that love them and guide them in their life.” bacco. If I take it I am not saying to you that I am going to do this for you, I!m saying this to Creator, that I am doing this for “To properly treat people the healer or doctor should have an- another human. So when I make that commitment to Creator cestral rights to the knowledge they are using. Only certain by accepting that tobacco, I will always follow through with my people know how to bring the spirit of the medicine alive so it intentions because they are to the Creator. We have to re- can do what it has to do. Spiritual connection to the holy being member that the Creator never turns away from us, never living inside the medicine is key. If a person doesn!t have those turns the commitment away from us. We have a sun that rights there is a price to pay. It might happen in two weeks, it comes up every morning. We have a wind. We have direc- might happen in twenty years, but the payment must be had.” tions. We!re not going to wake up one morning and find we only have the south, that the north and west just disappeared. “When you meet the right people you know, because you have So the Creator said this is my commitment to you and gives us that feeling right here, in your heart. There!s a good feeling this everyday. So how can we turn away from the Creator and about that person so you will know exactly if this person can say, “I!ll decide when I!m going to have a commitment to you”. help you or not. That!s why everything depends upon your We don!t. We can!t live that way as human beings; we have to faith. If you believe in it, it will help you.” follow through with what we say we!re going to do. So beyond that, I guess it would be whatever anybody feels they want to do or give or compensate the Elder for, if they

18 Cleanliness Control Flaps for the Wind 19 coming to know the deer and then having to take its life, was devastated. And he was angry. He was angry with his grand- father. His grandfather looked at him and said, “When you feel that way about a plant you will understand.” It!s the same thing even if you can!t hear them cry or hear them scream. They too have a spirit.”

“You have to ask the medicine to help you in the way that you People, Plants, and Medicine want it to. It!s like someone asking for its grandfather!s grand- father. That grandfather is that medicine. You need to treat “There is a medicine for everything, but it!s finding that medi- them with the right respect and approach them in the right cine and preparing that medicine, and asking the right way.” way.” “You have to treat these medicines like a human being. You Traditional Medicine have to talk to them, you have to ask them.” “Our old people didn!t just go out into the bush and try different plants. They would pray for what they needed and eventually The Gift of Life the Creator would give them a dream or vision.” “If you really think about these plants and animals giving up their lives for us, that!s huge. And if you can understand and “These herbal remedies, although they are not miracle cures, appreciate that, then you are there, at that bottom level of they are designed by the Creator to do certain things. There!s learning, that understanding of what it is that you are dealing medicine out there that will take a person that is just emaciated with here. It is a life, and it is giving up its life and is willing to and help them put weight on. It!s not necessarily going to cure help you. In the beginning, each plant made a commitment to them of this disease that!s raging through their bodies, but it!s help us and each other in their own special way. They fulfill going to allow them to hold down minerals and nutrients, the that commitment over and over and over again, but are not al- kinds of things that they need, while they start to work through ways appreciated. I read a story one time. It was about a other processes, like the emotion side of things, and the grandfather who was teaching his young grandson. He was trauma side of things. Most people don!t work on these things teaching about the spirit and that!s what literally kills them.” of plants and animals and one of the tasks the Protocol for Picking Medicine boy had to do was follow “If you want to learn about medicines, the best way is to go this deer for so many along with an Elder and watch them.” days to get to know it, to watch it, observe it, and “There!s a protocol in your attitude when you look for medicine. then on the last day he You think about it and then you go and you look and before you had to take its life. identify anything put some tobacco down on Mother And this boy, after Earth. Mother Earth is the one that grows everything, the Pasture Sage food that we eat, the medicine that we use and other

20 Humility Obedience 21 things that are practical services, like clothing and shelter. Preparing Medicines That!s what you have to respect. Don!t over pick and don!t over “When you prepare medicine you must be in the right frame of indulge in anything in mind. It takes a long time to prepare medicine because every- your practices. Don!t thing has to be clean. We literally physically clean all of the in- deplete it; always leave struments that we are going to use; sometimes we boil all of some. And have a place our jars to make sure they are sterile. We try to keep our med- for your medicines, like icines in glass or in ceramic pots. We don!t boil our medicines me, a little shack there. in those non-stick pans because they!re coated in chemicals. Oh, I just love going We try to use the most natural types of cooking and storing in- there, smelling, thinking struments. So you smudge the medicine, yourself, and every- about the lives of these thing you are going to use. We use plants, and the very clean cloth when we have to essence. That!s what I strain things. We try to do all this dur- pray to, or talk to. That!s ing the daylight hours. I was taught respect. The deepest the best time is in the morning be- kind of respect having cause the sun is at its freshest; it is An Elder!s medicine house to do with spirit.” just coming around to you again. It!s the best time to get help from those Responsibility spirits that are awake during the day- “The more I learn the less of a hurry I!m in. And I think a lot of time, because they!re the good ones, it has to do with the depth and the responsibility that come with they want to be helpful. Everything is the medicines and ceremonies, it!s huge to understand that seen in the light. And as you are spiritual aspect of it. Doing medicines is a lot of responsibility preparing that medicine you talk to and so you learn you need to be patient. So right now I just Bergamot / Horse Mint your own helpers and those helpers gather. I can recognize certain ones and I can pick them and that live inside those plants, those things that we use. Maybe I can dig them and I can clean them and I can cut them, but as it!s the rocks that we use. You treat them like a person sitting far as administering, I!m not there. Maybe one day, but not there and give them respect and patience. You try to speak today.” with them as you are preparing everything, and you are always asking for things to go right with what you are trying to do. “You have to pick the plants in the right way, with respect, oth- When you treat them that way, they are just like grandparents; erwise they can hurt you.” they love their grandchildren, especially when they are good, “People have to watch how they use this knowledge because polite and kind. They want to help more when they have well there is a big price to pay if you use it in the wrong way. These behaved grandchildren. And that!s what we are doing, trying to plants are meant to help you, not to gain riches, they are here be well behaved. We are trying to ask in a real pitiful way, be- for life. That!s why a lot of healers are very poor. They cause we are just the people that prepare things. The don!t really care as long as they have a roof over their healing actually comes from the medicine spirit and from head. They are rich because their children are healthy.” the person that is being looked at. The person often has

22 Respect Kinship 23 a lot on their mind; their illness is bothering them. So we try to get them nice and calm, try to get them to trust themselves, Plant Medicines trust their own prayer because everyone has good words for Creation.” The Four Sacreds Plants as Healers The four sacred plants are tobacco, sweetgrass, cedar, and “So what these medicines do, is they go and find out what the sage. They are some of the most important plants in our tra- story is. We ask them to go in and they look for what it is. And ditions. The four sacred medicines are used in everyday life you might think it is something right here and we!ll be trying to and in all of our ceremonies. target that but the medicine will maneuver around that thing and find what is really blocking things and it will start working Tobacco on that. A lot of times you need more than one medicine, just Tobacco is given as an of- like a diabetic will need three or four pills a day. So you ask fering for nearly everything those medicines to go inside and take a look. They are the and it is recommended that doctors; they know. They are designed like that, Creator made you carry it at all times. To- them to look after hearts or kidneys or livers.” bacco opens up the door “When you think about our bodies, we are all just big balls of to the spirit world. It is used energy. We have tissue, we have muscle, we have blood, we in ceremonies, when ask- have bones, we have all kinds of mechanisms inside that are ing for help from Elders, perfectly designed and it is all meant to work beautifully. But and during personal when we are small children, we start to get hurt. We start stor- prayers. ing things inside our mind, bad messages about being terrible people or some of us have been abused, sexually, physically, “So you always offer to- neglected, abandoned. So all of these types of things start to bacco to get the answer live within us and eventually they manifest into diabetes, can- that you are seeking. cers, all kinds of tendonitis and other afflictions. Our bodies, That!s my connection is to- these big balls of energy that are supposed to be flowing and bacco. When I!m at a loss moving, now have blockages because of the things that have for something I always use happened to us. These blockages can sit by our kidneys, our tobacco and ask.” brain, our hearts or wherever. Wherever it sits, there is some- thing that has happened to that person. A lot of the Elders that Traditional tobacco, often have that spiritual knowledge, they try to dig and find out what used in pipe ceremonies, has happened to you. But many times plant medicines can is called kinnikkinnik and is treat the issue without the person having to re-live or re-ana- made by mixing a number Tobacco lyze the event. Some of the things that happen to us we of plants. can!t remember. We can!t go back and think about them. The plants help us.” Also see Tobacco in the Protocol section

24 Love Humility 25 Sweetgrass cedar that grew by putting its roots deep into Mother Earth, Sweetgrass is the sacred hair of taking nourishment and life. You bathe in the water of the Mother Earth. It has a sweet, branches of that cedar and your body feels it and your cellular vanilla smell and is most com- structure meets it. And if a person feels better they act better monly braided, dried and used for and before long where your mind goes your body follows. And smudge. It is important that a that!s just one simple thing we can use with people who are woman on their moontime avoids needing that spiritual and family connection. To make a cedar handling and smudging with bath you boil cedar in water until the water turns a golden sweetgrass, due to the strength colour. And then you strain that water and pour it into a regular she has during this time. She may use sage. bath. You don!t add anything to the bath water, like salts, just the cedar water. And that!s what a cedar bath is.” “Sweetgrass was given to the people so that they can fulfill their Sage purpose, to pray for all of Cre- Sage is commonly referred to as the Women!s Medicine as it Sweetgrass ation.” can be used by women on their moontime. There are many varieties of sage including Pasture Sage, Prairie Sage, Thun- Cedar derbird Sage, Horse Sage, and Buffalo Sage. Each have When cedar is lit in a smudge, it emits a sweet, calming smell. slightly different uses but all can be used for smudging. Prairie It is used in ceremonial structures such as the Sweatlodge and Sage can be made into a tea and used to calm an upset Sundance arbor to provide protection and welcome the spirits stomach and to stop diarrhea. that help us in our healing. When cedar crackles over the fire it is said to be calling the attention of the spirits to the offerings “Female sage is a plant that grows for women and their phys- that are being made. ical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing. There is a story about a father who had three beautiful daughters. The daughters would go and dance at night with all of the other women. There was a man who had been watching the beautiful sis- ters. He told two friends from another camp about their beauty and the next night the two men kid- Cedar Baths napped two daughters and “One of the most important things I think our people need took them back to their to go back to is the cedar baths. Through the senses you camp. The other sis- feel the strength of the tree, you feel the strength of that Prairie Sage ter ran to her father

26 Thankfulness Faith 27 and told him that his daughters had been taken. It was the darkness before dawn and he knew he would have no chance of finding his daughters that day. He waited until the next Saskatoons evening and went to the spot where his daughters had been Saskatoons cleanse and taken. He put down tobacco and he prayed. Before him, there re-energize the body. was a path of sage, glowing in the moonlight. The path showed the struggles of the women and he followed it straight to the tipi where the men were keeping his daughters. He took back his daughters and told the men that if his daughters Bush wanted to marry them, they were free to do so, but then things must be done in the proper way.” Yarrow Other Helpful Medicines A tea made using the entire top of the plant helps support the im- Berries mune system and can be used for Deep red berries like saskatoons, chokecherries, raspberries, chest infections. It can also be blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and cherries are good boiled in water and used as a rinse for cleansing, building and re-energizing the blood. They are to make your hair shiny and get rid significant in ceremony and used as a feast food and to reju- of dandruff. venate the body after a sweat.

Blueberries Yarrow Blueberries are one of the strongest blood cleansers and in- crease the levels of your good Black Root / Echinacea cholesterol. Black root is used to boost the immune system and is com- Blueberries monly used for colds and flus. Chokecherries There is some controversy Chokecherries are a feast around the use of Echinacea food. They are traditionally pre- for people with HIV/AIDS. pared by grinding the whole Some reports recommend berry, seed and all, and then avoiding it if you have HIV, frying it in fat and adding while others say it is okay for sweetner if desired. Be careful temporary use. not to eat too much or you will get constipated. Chokecherries Black Root / Echinacea

28 Happiness Share 29 Mint Rat Root / Sweet Flag Mint leaves can be dried Rat root is used in a number or used fresh. Made into of mixtures or can be taken tea it can be used for a alone as a tea for colds and refreshing drink or taken flus. to help with colds.

Wild Mint

Rat Root / Sweet Flag Rosehips Rosehips are high in vitamin C. You can dry the rosehips, re- move the seeds and make into a tea. “I cook the whole berry, seeds and all, with plain lard and a little raw sugar. Then I mash it up and put it in jars. A teaspoon of that every day will clean your esophagus, your stomach and your rec- tum. And when it is going out it prevents hemor- Water Rosehip rhoids.” Water is important in healing practices and the preparation of medicines. Bathing in water, such as in cedar baths is cleans- ing and healing for the spirit. Drinking clean water is important, particularly for people with weakened immune systems.

Stinging Nettle “We grow in water before we are born, water heralds our ar- Stinging nettle is a good overall rival, it says, “Here they are,” and it comes first, then we are tonic that is high in vitamins and born. Throughout our life we need to be balanced with water, minerals. You can make it into a our bodies actually have to have over 55% water in order to tea. survive. And then upon death people shed tears and all the water leaves our body. It!s very symbolic of how precious and sacred that water is. So you bring water into an area Stinging Nettle where you are healing people.”

30 Strength Hope 31 Plant Names in Six Languages V M ( T D r e o a I l L m s n L q s a L u l a

i ) G t t , o i

o A o ,

n o K r o d C e k f n e r

e W a E d t o h a i t l s e s v h r e C - a S n r p g e t a p r e e i n e : y d W - - C i n D a a g I l r L t

r e B Ceremony and HIV/AIDS L y r u L

t L f h f S a a e v a l o K a

u What is Ceremony?

l e D l l t e t e e t

e Ceremony is a sacred time and place where people come to- l a e n - u

P e D x :

i gether to celebrate life and to ask for assistance in the way a : a A

p M k l o l o they live. Spiritually, we are all connected and ceremonies a a t t n a , r

g

J :

A bring us together in that world. Ceremonies are a healing time a e N d r f e f e a

w S and place designed to empower people. t m

C a

L

n - o a

d L t k e e a o - r

D t Personal Prayer s R a o I o L D n Every thought that we have is a prayer. We all pray and our n L - i c g D L t e

i e o N prayers are as valid as everyone else!s prayers. The best . p n a a a k prayers are when you speak, verbally or non-verbally, from the r r o t y m t . a

B

e heart. : n l L o t e o

o o m f n

I i n n

a Try going outside, somewhere close to the land when you g d

K t i a o pray. Mother Earth is a very powerful healer. r n n o

: e L

L s a a k n a k g

o “Life is hard. Every day is hard. It depends on how you wake m u t a p a

- g up in the morning. How you tell the Creator good morning de- L O e a c s n termines the rest of your day. If you are cheery and chipper in e , g

L a u i n t a the morning you say, *Ah, hello Creator! How are you!?!! then e

g M r e a

a you are going to have a

t C u n r o , e good day. When I talk to the n K

a s e n o

n little ones I always tell them d r

t A

i L u r m i to pray, say a few words in m n g , s

u 2

t the morning, say a few r 0 i o s 0 t n i

8 words at night before you go c g . s - , to bed. So you are looked after even as you sleep.”

32 Good Child Rearing 33 Moontime Feast Moontime is a cleansing ceremony A feast can be held at different times of the year for celebrations in itself and women should not at- of life and death and to give thanks. In traditional feasts, each tend any sacred ceremonies while person brings a traditional food item such as soup, berries, fish, they are on their cycle. A woman on bannock, tea or grease. Salt is not used in preparing any feast her cycle may attend a ceremony, foods. If you like salt, you can bring your own. Each person such as a feast, if she has consulted brings his or her own bowls and utensils and may bring con- with the ceremonialist. When a tainers to take extra food home. In contemporary feasts the host woman is on her moontime she is in ceremony to prepare to will often provide all the supplies for the feast. If food is offered create life. She is absorbing all the good energy from the world to you, you should always take a little bit. Please do not throw around her and is advised to have respect for the sacred objects away any food. Instead, find a clean place in nature to put the and keep her distance from them as she can draw the strength food you do not eat and offer a little tobacco. from sacred objects. When a woman is on her moontime she should not prepare foods for feasts or be near sacred items. Ceremony and HIV Ceremonies are a sacred time and place. They are powerful To Honour Your Womanhood and healing, and still it is wise to take precautions where Long skirts (below the knee) are to be worn for all ceremonies needed in order to protect your health and the health of others, as they identify you as a woman to the Creator. In keeping with whether or not you carry HIV. Traditional protocol, wear garments that cover all your skin. Some ceremonies suggest that a woman should not sit cross- It is possible that colds, herpes, and other infectious agents can legged during ceremony as she is very powerful. Some tradi- be spread through the sharing of objects orally, such as during tional protocols also suggest that a woman always has a blanket the smoking of a pipe or sharing a spoon during a feast. It is un- to sit on the ground. likely that HIV would be tranmitted in this way, unless there was a cut or sore in an HIV+ person!s mouth. However, for a person Pipe Ceremony who is HIV+, these practices may be dangerous due to the po- The pipe is a very powerful and sacred item and is a part of tential of contracting a cold or flu with a weakened immune sys- most ceremonies. Both men and women carry and smoke tem. pipes. There are some pipes that can only be smoked by either men or women. For a pipe ceremony, you may choose to bring your own mouth- piece, or to cup a hand around the end of the pipe stem when Naming Ceremony smoking it in order to avoid direct contact. You can also choose Having a Spirit name and colours connects us to our relations to touch the pipe to your shoulder and then pass it on. During in the spirit world allowing us to draw on strength and healing a feast, you can use your own utensils when berries and other from our spirit helpers. Traditions vary and naming can items are being passed around. occur at various time in one!s life.

34 Ultimate Protection Cleanliness 35 There is the potential of transmitting HIV to others during cere- you need a clear mind in order to fully benefit from the cere- monies that involve piercing the skin. It is important to talk to mony. When you are on alcohol or drugs within the four days the ceremonialist prior to the ceremony and make necessary before or after the ceremony you can harm the ceremonialist as arrangements. The ceremonialist should be knowledgeable well as all those attending. It is also important to avoid drugs about HIV and be able to make arrangements that protect your and alcohol while using medicines. If you are having difficulties, health as well as the health of others. If you have HIV and talk to an Elder. The Elder may be able to assist you. Each choose to pierce, you are advised to bring your own items and Elder carries different teachings and gifts and therefore each equipment. Be sure that you are the only person using these Elder will respond in his or her own way. items and equipment. “If you get someone that needs help, someone who!s been hav- “The Creator, I believe, places his hands around that lodge of ing a fairly rough time struggling to keep clean, but you know mine and protects everyone who is in and around it. It doesn!t their heart is in the right place, then it is really a judgment call matter what a person has or has done, they can come into that for the Elders. For some Elders there are certain kinds of med- healing place. It!s a sacred space now. And the Creator calls icines that they won!t administer because that person has been you to that sweatlodge; it!s not you or somebody else that does using.” it. So if you are called there you could have cancer, you could have HIV, you could have a million other types of diseases, but “If a person is using and taking medicines, it is almost like de- when the spirit has moved you to come take part in that sacred feating the purpose because that medicine has a spirit. When ceremony, then you invite the healing of the Creator into your you are working with that medicine and you are asking it to do life. And with prayer, and the help of your ancestors, there is no something it!s like you are insulting that spirit by saying *oh you one that is at risk of any harm or hurt. It can!t happen there.” know, just don!t mind these other bad guys,! because that alco- hol and drug they have a spirit too. So when you put them in the Just Being There same room together, they don!t often get along.” “It!s good for people to be at a ceremony, even if they don!t go in. Like to go to a sweat and just stay on the outside, relax and Crisis, Doubt and Purpose listen to the songs that are being sung and to offer their own Being in crisis can lead to doubting ourselves and the people prayers. To be around the laughter, to visit with people and to and practices around us. Doubt can cause us to forget that we get that feeling from going out to a sweat. A person doesn!t nec- each have a purpose, a reason for being here. We need faith essarily have to go in to the sweat to feel that they belong there, in order to find our true purpose. that they are included.” “And a lot of people that are in crisis, they don!t believe in them- Drugs and Alcohol selves so they have a hard time believing that these plants and Keep yourself free from any substance abuse such as alcohol, these ways are going to help them. People who are sick with drugs, and marijuana for a minimum of four days before these kinds of diseases have a past, a hurtful life. A lot of and four days after a ceremony. When you are in ceremony times they don!t trust themselves, they don!t believe in themselves, so naturally they are going to doubt the things

36 Ultimate Protection Strength 37 they are working with. But they are still alive, they have a pur- pose here. Even as ravaged by illnesses as they are, they!re still here. And sometimes when an Elder is praying in their lan- guage, people don!t understand and they wonder what!s going on. But we need faith.” “And what is better? To know who you really are and act as the Contacts Creator put you here to be and do for two or three or four years as opposed to living a lie of what the Creator put you here to do Elders and be for forty or fifty years. I think I!d rather take the three Aboriginal community services can help connect you with years of being very purposeful and connected to the Creator in Elders in your area. Look for Aboriginal community services my purpose as opposed to fifty years of just drifting.” near you. Lynne Thompson HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C Consulting (Education and choices around Traditional Medicine) Saskatoon, SK Tel.: (306) 261-9417 Email: [email protected] In Saskatchewan If you are outside of Saskatchewan contact your local health authority or visit www.catie.ca or www.caan.ca for a list of serv- ices in your area. All Nations Hope AIDS Network 2735 - 5th Avenue, Regina, SK S4T 0L2 Tel.: (306) 924-8424 Toll free: 1-877-210-7622 E-mail: [email protected] www.allnationshope.ca AIDS Programs South Saskatchewan (APSS) 2735 - 5th Avenue, Regina, SK S4T 0L2 Sage, sweetgrass braid, and smudge bowl Tel.: (306) 924-8420 Toll free: 1-877-210-7623 www.aidsprogramssouthsask.com Saskatoon HIV Aboriginal Reduction of Harm Program (SHARP) 339 Ave P South, Saskatoon, SK S7M2W3 Tel.: (306) 956-0345 www.health.gov.sk.ca/sharp 38 Faith 39 AIDS Saskatoon 1143 Avenue F North, Saskatoon, SK S7L 1X1 Tel.: (306) 242-5005 Toll free: 1-800-667-6876 E-mail: [email protected] www.aidssaskatoon.ca Persons Living With AIDS (PLWA) Network of Saskatchewan 125C Ave. D North, PO Box 7123, Saskatoon, SK S7K 4J1 Tel.: (306) 373-7766 Toll free: 1-800-226-0944 E-mail: [email protected] The Avenue Community Centre For Gender & Sexual Diversity #201-320 21st St. W., Saskatoon, SK, S7M 4E6 Tel.: (306) 665-1224 Toll free: 1-800-358-1833 www.avenuecommunitycentre.ca Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition (CRHC) PO Box 3043, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 3S9 Tel.: (306) 955-5130 Toll free 1-800-955-5129 www.rainbowhealth.ca Access Place 101 15th St. E., Prince Albert, SK, S6V 6G1 Sexual Health Centre Tel.: (306) 765-6540 Hepatitis C Clinic Tel: (306) 765-6533 Harm Reduction Program Tel.: (306) 765-6533 Need more HIV information and resources? CATIE (Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange) www.catie.ca 1-800-263-1638 Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) www.caan.ca 1-888-285-2226 40