Food Science
The Plains Indians were a group of Native Americans located in the Midwest. They were a pastoral nomadic and a hunter-gatherer tribe. Their main source of food consisted of buffalo, which was their main source of protein. They also collected different types of plants. Many of these plants collected were used for medicinal purposes, such as wild onion for a bee sting. The use of plants to treat disease has long been a crucial part of Plains Indians medicine. When the Plains Indians hunted for food, they also gathered plants. Medicine women would gather plants and berries to be used for seasoning and medicinal purposes. They would collect plants when they contained the highest amount of the preferred active ingredient. When collecting plants for medicinal purposes, they referred to the concept of "like cures like." For example, bloodroot was collected to stop bleeding because its juice is red. Medicine women learned about herbal remedies through assisting medicine men. Certain parts of the plant were collected during different times of the year. The inner bark was usually collected during the spring and the leaves were picked while the plant was in bloom. Many of the plants were dried for
Even though many doctors are skeptical, people are going to herbalists for the answers to their medical problems. As man's population increased, the invention of weapons came about, and man began to destroy and eat the animals, a revolt took place. (1)Native Americans also had to deal with insect bites and stings. The Flambeau Ojibwa tribe would make a tea from the barks of white cherry for coughs. Boiling water was also a way for Native Americans to extract active ingredients from the plants. For example, they would make mesquite plants into a tea that was used to treat bladder infections. All of these proved to be very effective. (2) Treating symptoms of the common cold was an easy task for many Native American tribes. These stories, passed down from generation to generation, were the basis of many of their beliefs and foundation of their culture. Determining what affects certain plants had on people was important for Native Americans to know. Herbal medicine has proven itself a safe alternative to modern medicine. The Plains Indians used purple coneflower as a common medicine to treat bites and stings that came from a variety of bugs. In today's society, we are looking for alternative ways to treat illnesses. The Cherokee Indians would make a tea from partridgeberry leaves to speed up childbirth. The medicine women were thought to have a connection with the spiritual world and that is where they got the power to heal.
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Acceptance Essays
