Siletz news /, August 01, 2011, Page 16, Image 16

Photo by Natasha Kavanaugh
Pam Barlow-Lind and Dave Davis from the Tribal Planning Department stand
next to a Lincoln County Transit bus that’s making its inaugural run on a new
schedule funded by the Siletz Tribe. A $164,000 grant from the Federal Transit
Administration helped the Tribe coordinate with Lincoln County to provide
daytime express routes between Siletz and Lincoln City and evening trips
between Siletz, Toledo and Newport. Schedules can he obtained by calling
Photo by Natasha Kavanaugh
The winners of the first 4,h of July office decorating (with recycled items)
contest is the staff of the business office at the Siletz Community Health Clinic
- team lead Elaine Greene (1) and team members Michelle Strickler, Brenda
Howell, Rhonda Attridge and Wendi Schamp. Not pictured: Ronda Ramsey.
Lincoln County Transit at 541-265-4900 or visiting co.lincoln.or.us/transit.
Tooth Talk: Plants once used for oral health care by Northwest Indians
Pacific Northwest and
Alaska Natives used
variety of plants in
traditional healing
By Mary Ellen Volansky, RDH, MS
The following plants were once used
by Indians of the Pacific Northwest,
specifically those in Alaska, as reported
by Ann Garibaldi in Medicinal Flora of
the Alaska Natives. The cover of this
book states the following: A compilation
of knowledge from literary sources of
Aleut, Alutiiq, Athabascan, Eyak, Haida,
Inupiat, Tlingit, Tsimshian and Yupik
traditional healing methods using plants.
Many of the plants listed also grow in
the Pacific Northwest. Some of the plants
and their uses could be cross-referenced
with other sources to confirm their use by
Indians of the Pacific Northwest.
Garibaldi offers some definitions for
methods of plant preparation:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ash: The powdery residue of matter
that remains after burning
Chew: An herb eaten either raw or
cooked
Compress: An herbal fluid wrapped
on the body and kept warm
Decoction: An herbal tea prepared
from coarse leaves, stems, roots and
barks
Infusion: An herbal tea prepared from
flowers and soft leaves
Poultice: An herbal pack applied
directly on the skin
Salve: A thick herbal oil that can be
put on the skin and left there
This book offers this disclaimer for
anyone who might try to use this infor­
mation to medicate or treat themselves or
others: Information contained in this book
is not intended to be used as a guide for
healing or self-medication. Historically,
medicinal plants were used only by skilled
16
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Siletz News
*
and knowledgeable people, such as tra­
ditional healers. Inappropriate medicinal
use of plants may result in harm or death.
Good sound advice.
Plants
1. Horsetail - equisetum arvense and
silvatricum (p. 136):
• Athabascan-jointed grass roots
were heated and placed against
the teeth for toothaches.
2. Cow parsnip - heracleum lanatum
(p. 93)
• Athabascan - “heating cow
parsnip root until very hot and
placing the root on the aching
tooth. It was said that this helped
by killing the nerves causing the
ache.” See disclaimer earlier in
this article.
3. False Hellebore - veratrum viride
essp. eschscholtzii (p. 122):
• Athabascan - facilitated removal
of a rotten tooth, a piece of raw
root was place on the tooth. Cau­
tion was taken not to swallow any
of the root or its juice, presum­
ably because of its toxic nature.
• Tlingit - infection/inflamma-
tion: “It was said that medicinal
properties of skunk cabbage were
discovered by the Tlingit through
the observation of brown bears:
‘Big brown bear digs it up. Stick
it to a place where it’s wounded.
That’s how they (people) learn.
Bears just use it raw. No matter
what place he is, bear always go
to that. He (my father) wounded
so many brown bears, he see
them do it.’”
4. Cow Parsnip/Indian Celery/Indian
Rhubarb/Wild Celery - heracleum
lanatum (p. 94):
• Athabascan - Toothaches were
relieved by the outer inlet
dena’ina by heating cow parsnip
root until very hot and placing
August 2011
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
the root on the aching tooth. It
was said that this helped kill the
nerves causing the ache. (Han­
dling cow parsnip can cause
extreme skin sensitivity to light.
Blistering, redness and skin sores
may result, p. 93)
Stinkweed - artemisia tilesii (p. 70):
• Athabascan used stinkweed for
eye problems, toothaches and
sore eyes resulting from snow
blindness. Leaves were chewed
for a cough.
• Inupiat and Yupik as well as
Athabascan used various parts
of this plant to treat infections
and draw out pus, cuts/scrapes,
childbirth and skin troubles.
Angelica - angelica lucida and
angelica genuflexa (p. 65-66):
• Athabascan - Outer inlet and
upper inlet dena’ina placed raw
angelica root on a toothache until
the tooth broke up and fell out.
Some dena’ina people claimed a
poultice of root “numbs pain and
heal afflictions.”
Northern Yarrow - achillea borealis
(p. 62):
• Athabascan, Ninilchik area —
gargled with yarrow teas for sore
throats and other sickness.
• Alutiiq, Chugack area - boils
were treated with the pulver­
ized root. Also used for cold/
flu, coughs/chest congestions,
infections/inflammation and sore
throat.
Highbush Cranberrry - viburnum
edule (p. 57):
• Alutiiq, Chugach-area Eskimo
- a leaf infusion from high cran­
berry also was used as a sore
throat gargle.
White Spruce - picea glauca (p. 34):
• Athabascan - Pitch was chewed
like gum and was said to prevent
both toothaches and headaches.
Today, fluoride varnish is made
either from pine rosin or a chemi­
cal copy of pine rosin as a means
of holding fluoride on our teeth
so they can absorb it. Our teeth
can hold onto it for up to three
months. Ask in the dental clinic
for a treatment.
10. Juniper - juniperus communis ssp
nana (p. 21):
• Athabascan, Upper Tanasa-
Native used a decoction of juni­
per to treat toothaches and sore or
raw gums.
11. Devil’s Club - echinopanax horridum
(p. 15):
• Alutiiq - Toothaches, sore throat,
infections/inflammations of
ash, bath, infusion/decoction
and poultice.
• Haida - dried and masked inner
bark or roots were mixed with
spruce pitch or red cedar pitch
and smeared over the cut. This
would begin to harden and
protect the wound from dirt
and infections.
•
Another piece of information I found
in this interesting and helpful book is
a clear difference between a tree and a
shrub. A tree is a woody perennial plant
that usually has a single trunk. A shrub is
a woody perennial plant that usually has
several main stems arising from or near
the ground; a bush.
The first example that came to my
mind is the difference between a madrone
(Salish and Cowichan leaves chewed
and juice swallowed for sore throat and
Sokomish used an infusion of leaves for
sore throats; p. 83, Moerman), a tree and
a manzanita (Thompson used infusion
of leaves for canker sores and sore gums
p. 88, Moerman), a bush.
Native American Ethnobotany by
Daniel E. Moerman, 6,h printing, 2006