Traditional Indigenous medicine takes root in the Faculty of Medicine
The Faculty of Medicine is a place where Traditional Indigenous medicine has taken root.
The Faculty of Medicine’s sweetgrass garden was planted in the spring of 2024 with the help of the Office of the Dean, Facilities Management and the Botanical Gardens. The garden flourished this summer, and we are pleased that students, staff and members from the community were able to harvest sweetgrass earlier this month.
Sweetgrass has a wide range of medicinal, ceremonial and practical uses and applications. Many of its time-honored uses originate with the Peoples of the Great Plains, Canadian Prairies and Eastern Woodlands. Sweetgrass can be identified by its purple stems and vanilla-like aroma. Its sweet smell comes from its coumarin, which can be carefully prepared as an effective anticoagulant. Other preparations of sweetgrass are used to treat coughs, sore throats and congested nasal passages, as well as skin damage and a variety of other injuries and ailments. Sweetgrass is also frequently prepared for ceremonial use. For instance, when dried and braided, sweetgrass is often burned during the smudge ceremony. Given its medicinal and ceremonial significance, it is considered by many to be one of the four most sacred medicines (along with cedar, sage and tobacco). When burned together, these medicines reduce airborne bacteria and other pathogens. Sweetgrass is also an effective mosquito repellent and a durable material for weaving baskets and other items that are both practical and aesthetically appealing.
The Office of the Dean, in partnership with NLHS, is outfitting a centrally located lecture theater so that students, staff, faculty and community members can participate in ceremony with sweetgrass and other Indigenous Medicines. If you would like more information on the forthcoming ceremonial space, the sweetgrass garden, or if you would like to be part of the next harvesting cycle, please contact the Faculty of Medicine’s Indigenous Health Office at 709-864-6621 or indigenoushealth@mun.ca.