Within the oral traditions of Native Nations, the assignment of responsibility for the health of the people is revealed through stories. The following article begins with an excerpt from Folklore of the Winnebago Tribe by David Lee Smith, one of the advisors to Midwest SOARRING. The story shows the appointment of caretakers of the sacred herbs, followed by the use of the plant currently known as Bloodroot.

Once long ago, when the Winnebagos lived among the lakes, seven young women were chosen by the Creator himself to look after the sacred plants and herbs of the tribe. Seven young warriors were also chosen to be the protectors of these maidens throughout their lives. The Creator Ma-ona wanted these women pure and not to be touched by man.

One day the medicine woman of the tribe sent these young women on a herb-finding mission into the woods. The young warriors followed at a distance, but always keeping in eye contact with the women. Unknown to the warriors, they in turn were followed by an evil shaman who wanted the Winnebago virgins to be offered up as human sacrifices to his evil god.

The evil shaman followed the maidens and their protectors at a distance. When the women reached their destination, they started to pick the plants. The evil shaman threw a veil of evil mist in front of the men's eyes so that they saw what he wanted them to see, which was a view of the woman picking plants. The evil shaman then approached them as a very handsome man, and they all fell in love with him at first sight. They knew this was forbidden, however, and they realized what he was. They all took off running, but could not find the trail back to their village. The evil shaman threw mist in front of them to confuse the young women.

After running for hours, the maidens began to tire. In the early hours of the evening, the women made it to the lake, just as the evil one caught up with them. Now he showed his true self to them, and they knew there was no escape. They cried in one voice to the Creator, "Ma-ona! Help us, the demon is going to kill us and make food of our flesh!"

With a loud thundering of the heavens, Ma-ona answered their call. With a zap of lightning, the evil one was burned to a cinder, and the seven maidens were lifted up into the heavens and placed in the northwest. They became the Big Dipper. The evil shaman was placed as the North Star, so now the seven maidens could circle him and taunt him for eternity. The medicine woman of the Winnebagos threw the seven young warriors into the heavens. They became the Little Dipper. That was their payment for failing to protect Ma-ona's daughters.*

To this day, you can see the seven maidens taunting the North Star, and their protectors in the Little Dipper forever keeping a watchful eye out for them.

* * *

I am grateful and honored that David Smith has allowed me to reprint his story. It is significant for many reasons. One, that the Creator, himself, chose the sacred women who would be the caretakers of the sacred medicines. Two, that even though the woman felt the temptation of the evil shaman, they never succumbed to his evil ways. Third, it tells of the balance that must be kept between men and women.

It is on David Smith's recommendation that I choose Bloodroot as the featured plant for this article, a potent medicine well-known and used by Native people for a variety of reasons. The Winnebago word for Bloodroot is Peh-hishuji. The first part of the word means gourd, and the second part means to make red. Bloodroot or Sanguinaria canadensis is a member of the poppy family. It emerges early in the spring in the leaf mold of rich forests. If insects arrive in the first few hours of the white petals unfolding, they can transfer the pollen from one flower to another. If it is too cold and insects are not around, it is self-pollinating. Ants are attracted to the female pods filled with gelatin seeds, and unwittingly disseminate the seed.

Bloodroot gets its name from the red liquid that comes from the rhizome that contains several poisonous alkaloids. It was used as a dye for baskets, to color arrow feathers, for face and body painting, and as a love charm.

However, medicine was its most common use. The rhizomes were made into a tea to treat fever and rheumatism. Sometimes a drop of the liquid was put on maple sugar and dissolved in the mouth for sore throats.

A body of writing entitled the Doctrine of Signatures indicates the use of a plant according to its specific physical characteristics. Examples of medicinal use associated with physical features are the use of dandelion for jaundice and liverleaf for liver ailments. In the case of Bloodroot, the blood-colored liquid was used for a variety of purposes associated with blood, such as hemorrhage, wounds, ulcers, sores and burns.

Native people have also used bloodroot to treat cancer. It was recorded in 1857 that Bloodroot, zinc chloride, flour and water was made into a paste and applied to tumors. Doctors for surface cancers and fungal growths at one time prescribed both the powdered rhizome and the juice. (Note: Bloodroot contains the skin irritating compounds chelerythrine and sanguinarine, plus proteolytic enzymes that help dissolve proteins such as wart-infected tissue.) Since this herbal preparation is very powerful and can be toxic, its use by Western peoples declined through the years, only to be revived in 1962 for the same ancient treatments. Sanguinarine has shown antiseptic, anesthetic and anti-cancer activity. It is used in mouthwashes and rinses as a plaque-inhibiting agent.

Despite all its potential benefits, I don't recommend that anyone use this herb without instruction from someone whose family has used it for many years. Only with the ancient knowledge can one know when to harvest the roots, how to process them and what dosages to use. In very moderate doses, Bloodroot is a lethal poison, and a prescribed dose can be very close to a lethal dose. As it is closely related to the Opium Poppy, it should not be taken internally, and there are elements that can affect the heart and the eyes.

Daniel Moerman, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, Dearborn, has written many books on the ethnobotany of American Indians. In early spring, he tried to capture the radiance of Bloodroot in a photograph. The leaves came out a deep, brilliant green, but the white 8-petaled flower looked like he had photographed an electronic flash.+ Sometimes when we least expect it, the plants reveal their true essence to those who walk among them long enough.

If we walk among the plants, not as humans who know everything but as seekers who have come to listen and learn, we may also have the ability to walk among the sacred.

*Folklore of the Winnebago Tribe, by David Lee Smith, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 1998

+Geraniums For The Iroquois, by Daniel E. Moerman, Reference Publications, Inc., 1981.

Bloodroot

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