An excerpt from Chapter One, "Personal
Smoke"
Spinning Coyote Smoke Mix
Damiana—a sweet-smelling, gentle
nervine. Helps keep the heart open during difficult times.
Mullein—helps soothe inflamed lungs.
It is the base of many smoke mixes. It is a very gentle
herb and has no known toxic effect.
Passionflower— soothes the mind.
A nervine and a sedative, it is especially helpful for nerves
that have been stressed by worrying and overthinking.
Manzanita—one of the most frequently
used herbs in smoke mixes by First Nation people. It’s
an astringent, grounding element in a smoke mix.
Skullcap— relaxes rigid muscles.
Helps stop obsessive thinking and grounds the mind in the
body. Good for insomnia.
Fennel (or anise) seed—a wonderful
aroma, lifts the heart.
Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation—When I was living in Tahlequah,
my friend Dawn Caldwell (Sauk & Fox/Quapaw) gave me
a copy of a Cheyenne story titled Coyote Who Wanted to Dance
with the Stars. Dawn is a scholar of Native American Studies
who grew up dancing on PowWow Highway, the partly mythical,
mostly real string of PowWows that winds through Indian
Country. I learned a lot from her generous sharing of Indian
Way.
Coyote sat down on Earth and watched
the stars spinning across the night sky. He wanted to be
up high with the stars, spinning and dancing. So Coyote
flew up to the stars, spinning across the sky higher and
higher, faster and faster, until he went so fast that his
arms and legs flew off and he crashed to the ground. Coyote’s
desire for that high, fast, spinning star dance was so great
he didn’t learn the first time he crashed, or the
second time. The third time he went so fast, and so high,
that his head flew off, all his arms and legs fell off,
and his whole body flew to pieces and he was scattered all
over the Earth. It took him a long, long time to find all
the pieces of himself and put himself back together again.
I didn’t get it the first time I read it. About a
week later, it hit me. This was my story. I think this is
the story for a lot of us.When we want to be something we
aren’t, when we go too fast, too high, try to achieve
an ideal life, or an ideal relationship, or an ideal career
that is humanly impossible, sooner or later our bodies fall
apart, our identities crash, and it takes a long time to
find all the pieces and put ourselves back together.
That’s why sometimes I think of my smoke mix as the
Spinning Coyote Smoke Mix. It reminds me to slow down and
enjoy myself as a mere mortal here on Earth.
Excerpt from
Smoke Plants of North America, A Journey of Discovery by
M.R.Ross
182 pp.
paperback
5 1/4 X 7 1/4
published by MultiCultural Educational Publishing Co.
P.O.Box 1054, Jerome, AZ 86331
www.smokeplants.com
MULLEIN RECIPES
* Excerpt from A
City Herbal by Maida Silverman
MULLEIN-FLOWER TEA
Pour I cup of boiling water over I heaping tablespoon of
Mullein flowers. Let steep10 minutes, strain, and sweeten
with honey if desired.
MULLEIN FLOWERS IN MILK
This is a pleasant, nutritious drink that, taken at bedtime,
soothes irritated bronchial passages and relieves coughing.
Modern herbalists also recommend this drink to relieve diarrhea
in adults.
Combine 2 tablespoons of mullein flowers (or you may substitute
chopped fresh mullen leaves if you wish) with 1 pint of
milk. Heat to the scalding point and let stand until warm.
Strain and sweeten with honey.
Note: Mullein drinks should be strained through coffee filter
paper, to remove the fine hairs that cover the entire plant.
These are irritating to the mouth and throat.
* Excerpt from A
City Herbal by Maida Silverman
The Song Still Sings in Our
Hearts
by Phyllis Crawford (Whisper)
I come here into this life grandchild of those who have
lost it all
you raise me in another's world where my heart's song whimpers
I walk their road like a traveler and not a true countryman
their life is not mine, their ways are not mine, I am isolated
once in a while I hear the echos of the old ones songs
sometimes I hear the truth from voices of those brave ones
ones with courage in their hearts - I call them the planters
they walk through this world to plant a memory seed
the love song of the ancient ones who dreamed and knew
their song whispers across my heart from time to time
and yes the joy of their dance sometimes comes to me
in a remembering of those who knew no fear nor doubt
I see the many hoops shape into the ancient love storeis
they show me it all, the Earth Mother, the Bear, the others
the Butterfly, the Eagle and so many more who taught
their spirits come alive with the rhythms of the drums
they rise up and dance with the hoops and dancers
I laugh as I see them return to dance and share
they call out in their spirit song "listen and watch"
we will recall our songs for you as you dream awake
the tears begin to flow and I begin to know it is me
a grandchild of the ones for whom this land was created
I know now it is me who is the countryman of this walk
and they, the strangers I live among, are but travelers
they come for a short while what seems like in time
they have taken what seems all that once was to us
yet they have taken nothing, we are still here in this walk
and the song of our people still sings in our hearts