AS WITH ANY MEDICATION OR CHANGE IN DIET, you should consult your doctor before following even an herbal regimine. Bren and Jay's provides this information only as a suggestion, but assumes no responsibilities for side affects or reactions.
Mullein
Introduced by Europeans. The Menominees smoked the pulverized, dried root for respiratory complaints while the Forest Potawatomis, the Mohegans, and the Penobscots smoked the dried leaves to relieve asthma. The Catawba Indians used a sweetened syrup from the boiled root, which they gave to their children for coughs.
Gentian
The Catawba Indians steeped the roots in hot water and applied the hot fluid on aching backs.
Horsemint
The Catawba tribe crushed and steeped fresh horsemint leaves in cold water and drank the infusion to allay back pain. Other tribes used horsemint for fever, inflammation, and chills.
Pleurisy Root
The Natchez drank a tea of the boiled roots as a remedy for pneumonia and was later used to promote the expulsion of phlegm.
Wormwood
The Yokia Indians of Mendocino County used a tea of the boiled leaves of a local species of wormwood to cure bronchitis.
To promote a rapid delivery, an infusion of the root in warm water was drunk as a tea for several weeks prior to the expected delivery date.
To Speed Delivery of the Placenta:
American Licorice
A tea was made from the boiled roots.
Broom Snakeweed
Navajo women drank a tea of the whole plant to promote the expulsion of the placenta.
To Stop Post-Partum Hemorrhage:
Buckwheat
Hopi women were given an infusion of the entire buckwheat plant to stop bleeding.
Black Western Chokecherry
Arikara women were given a drink of the berry juice to stop bleeding.
Smooth Upland Sumac.
The Omahas boiled the smooth upland sumac fruits and applied the liquid as an external wash to stop bleeding.
To relieve the Pain of Childbirth:
Wild Black Cherry
Cherokee women were given a tea of the inner bark to relieve pain in the early stages.
Cotton
The Alabama and Koasati tribes made a tea of the roots of the plant to relieve the pains of labor.
Indian Paintbrush
Hopi women drank a tea of the whole Indian paintbrush to "Dry up the menstrual flow."
Blue Cohosh
Chippewa women drank a strong decoction of the powdered blue cohosh root to promote parturition and menstruation.
Dogbane
Generally used by many tribes, a tea from the boiled roots of the plant was drunk once a week.
Milkweed
Navajo women drank a tea prepared of the whole plant after childbirth.
American Mistletoe
Indians of Mendocino County drank a tea of the leaves to induce abortion or to prevent conception.
Antelope Sage
To prevent conception, Navajo women drank one cup of a decoction of boiled antelope sage root during menstruation.
Stoneseed
Shoshoni women of Nevada reportedly drank a cold water infusion of stoneseed roots everyday for six months to ensure permanent sterility.
Wild Cherry
The Flambeau Ojibwa prepared a tea of the bark of wild cherry for coughs and colds, while other tribes used a bark for diarrhea or for lung troubles.
White Pine
The inner bark was used by Indian people as a tea for colds and coughs.
Sarsaparilla
The Penobscots pulverized dried sarsaparilla roots and combined them with sweet flag roots in warm water and used the dark liquid as a cough remedy.
Devil’s Club
The Indians of British Columbia utilized a tea of the root bark to offset the effects of diabetes.
Wild Black Cherry
The Mohegans allowed the ripe wild black cherry to ferment naturally in a jar about one year than then drank the juice to cure dysentery.
Dogwood
The Menominees boiled the inner bark of the dogwood and passed the warm solution into the rectum with a rectal syringe made from the bladder of a small mammal and the hollow bone of a bird.
Geranium
Chippewa and Ottawa tribes boiled the entire geranium plant and drank the tea for diarrhea.
White Oak
Iroquois and Penobscots boiled the bark of the white oak and drank the liquid for bleeding piles and diarrhea.
Black Raspberry
The Pawnee, Omaha, and Dakota tribes boiled the root bark of black raspberry for dysentery.
Star Grass
Catawbas drank a tea of star grass leaves for dysentery.
Yellow Root
A tea from the root was used by the Catawbas and the Cherokee as a stomach ache remedy.
Willow
The Pomo tribe boiled the inner root bark, then drank strong doses of the resulting tea to induce sweating in cases of chills and fever. In the south, the Natchez prepared their fever remedies from the bark of the red willow, while the Alabama and Creek Indians plunged into willow root baths for the same purpose.
Feverwort
The Cherokees drank a decoction of the coarse, leafy, perennial herb to cure fevers.
American Hemp and Dogbane
Used by the Prairie Potawatomis as a heart medicine, the fruit was boiled when it was still green, and the resulting decoction drunk. It was also used for kidney problems and for dropsy.
Purple Coneflower
The Plains Indians used this as a universal application for the bites and stings of all crawling, flying, or leaping bugs. Between June and September, the bristly stemmed plant, which grows in dry, open woods and on prairies, bears a striking purplish flower.
Stiff Goldenrod
The Meskwaki Indians of Minnesota ground the flowers into a lotion and applied it to bee stings.
Trumpet Honeysuckle
The leaves were ground by chewing and then applied to bees stings.
Wild Onion and Garlic
The Dakotas and Winnebagos applied the crushed bulbs of wild onions and garlics.
Saltbush
The Navajos chewed the stems and placed the pulpy mash on areas of swelling caused by ant, bee and wasp bites. The Zunis applied the dried, powdered roots and flowers mixed with saliva to ant bites.
Broom Snakeweed
The Navajos chewed the stem and applied the resin to insect bites and stings of all kinds.
Tobacco
A favorite remedy for bee stings was the application of wet tobacco leaves.
Bloodroot
A favorite rheumatism remedy among the Indians of the Mississippi region - the Rappahannocks of Virginia drank a tea of the root.
Hops
The Mohegans prepared a sedative medicine from the conelike strobiles and sometimes heated the blossoms and applied them for toothache. The Dakota tribe used a tea of the steeped strobiles to relieve pains of the digestive organs, and the Menominee tribe regarded a related species of hops as a panacea.
Wild Lettuce
Indigenous to North American, it was used for sedative purposes, especially in nervous complaints.
Persimmon
The Catawba stripped the bark from the tree and boiled it in water, using the resulting dark liquid as a mouth rinse.
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