How to Get Healthy – Following the Paths of Native People – Southside Pride

Megan Schnitker from Lakota Made

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE

Pay attention to indigenous ways

Although you will be reading this in December or later, I wrote it in November, the month of American Indian Heritage Month. For this reason, and due to the fact that in recent years the availability of knowledge and products from indigenous peoples and organizations has increased significantly, I thought that I would focus on local and indigenous ideas and products in the health and beauty sector.
Minnesota is a great place to find winter wellness resources. The indigenous people here – primarily the Lakota and Ojibwe – work diligently to preserve their traditions in food, shelter, health care, stories and language, among other things. This is primarily for their own physical and cultural survival, but they enjoy sharing wellness resources and knowledge about growing food, foraging, herbalism, and other wisdom to keep the body and mind healthy year-round.

Tinctures made by Lakota

Our resident experts – NATIFS

One of the most remarkable and far-reaching resources in the country is right here in Minneapolis. The Indigenous Food Lab (IFL) at Midtown Global Market and NATIFS, the nonprofit behind it, were co-founded by Sean Sherman, the “Sioux Chef,” best known for his award-winning restaurant, Owamni, also in Minneapolis.
IFL’s Marketplace sells native pantry items such as dried tepary beans, frozen game and wild-caught fish, wild rice, nixtamalized corn and corn products, coffee, chocolate, maple syrup, honey, jams, and sauces made from native berries and fruits more. They also sell herbal tea blends, tinctures and extracts, as well as herb and mushroom infused items. And non-food items such as herbal soaps, balms and oils. Everything in the marketplace is made by indigenous peoples, with the majority coming from the heartland of North America.
The IFL Marketplace also sells prepared food and drinks for take-out or consumption on site. I tried a new food or combination, then went back to the market and bought the ingredients to take home and cook myself. So I became a big fan of Tepary beans, especially the white ones, which are so creamy and subtle in taste.

More local Native American sources

Lakota Made is a small business in Mankato founded and operated by Megan Schnitker. They sell a huge and ever-growing selection of products, all made by Schnitker and her small staff and based on the traditional herbal knowledge she received directly from her extended family. The herbal products range from teas to infusions and drinking teas, tinctures, tonics, ointments, balms, bath teas and more. There are personal care and beauty products, dishwashing liquids, various accessories such as those for making tea or skin care, and then a few items that are not made by Schnitker but by other relatives – star blankets and traditional jewelry. Sahan Journal wrote an article about her and her company in 2022: tinyurl.com/DKRatSSP-LakotaMade.
Another Minnesota-based company is Anahata Herbals in Duluth (anahataherbals.com). Although Anahata does not claim to be locally owned, it is a supplier to Owamni and IFL as they source many of their local products from local suppliers. Anahata describes itself as “Minnesota Northlands Herbal Pharmacy.” Right here in the hills of Duluth, we offer the finest organic, fair trade and wild herbs, essential oils, flower essences, books and local programs.”
They also offer online sales and shipping, so you don’t have to drive to Duluth to try their wares. In addition to a wide selection of herbal products, they sell wild rice (harvested wild in northern Minnesota and parched in wood), chaga (a medicinal mushroom), and a proprietary hot sauce called Hot Love Pepper Sauce, which contains garlic cloves and habanero peppers. (Many people consider a good natural hot sauce to be an essential winter wellness accessory for your kitchen.)

Further away…

Another herbal health product provider that claims to be Native American owned but only online with no physical address and therefore difficult to verify is Native Botanicals. I’m including them because they have a unique product that I might want to get this winter. You may be familiar with the practice of smoking, a practice that is beneficial for both physical and mental health. But some people, like me, are so sensitive to smoke of any kind that they may lose some of the benefits of smoking due to allergic reactions. Other people may have serious medical conditions that make inhaling smoke completely taboo.
Native Botanicals offers a small range of products called Liquid Smudge specifically designed to fill this gap. They consist of a mist that contains only essential oils from the herbs used for smoking: white sage, cedar and sweetgrass in the original formula, juniper and mugwort in the Badlands version and simply pine and cedar in the Black Hills version. If you are interested, you can find them at realnativebotanicals.com.

Hope Flanagan teaches foraging in Crosby

Looking for herbs and food

In addition to purchasing these types of products, many of them can also be found in the wild, even in urban wilderness, if you are familiar with safe foraging techniques. Luckily, Minneapolis is also a hotbed of nationally known collectors. Community education, garden centers, nonprofit organizations, food co-ops, and private foraging experts all offer short one-day courses or more in-depth courses.
One such foraging superstar is Hope Flanagan. She works with Dream of Wild Health and its partner, the Indigenous Food Network, to teach foraging, among other traditional skills. Dream of Wild Health is a Native-led nonprofit organization whose mission is “to restore health and wellness in the First Nations community by restoring knowledge of and access to healthy Indigenous foods, medicines, and lifestyles.” Read more at dreamofwildhealth.org/hope-flanagan. Seward Co-op is also part of the Indigenous Food Network, and indigenous herbalism, cooking and foraging are often among their course offerings.
Four Seasons Foraging is the organizational name of Maria Wesserle, a nationally known foraging expert. She teaches courses at her own company and with many partners, including the American Swedish Institute (asimn.org). Check them out at fourseasonforaging.com or check out the ASI website event listings for their upcoming classes.

Dream of Wild Health Youth Gardening

Grow your own

The University of MN Four Directions Medicine Garden is a program of the University of MN Agricultural College Extension program. Led by Elder June Blue, it offers training in both Native American practices of gardening and growing traditional herbal medicine. Read more about the garden and Elder June Blue here: tinyurl.com/DKRatSSP-4DirGarden.

More resources

This winter, discover Native American foods, medicines, and herbal traditions through books. Visit Birchbark Books & Native Arts, a local bookstore in Minneapolis owned by bestselling Native American author Louise Erdrich to purchase books on medicinal herbs, gardening and health. Products from Dream of Wild Health and other manufacturers mentioned here can be purchased at the Four Sisters Farmers Market on Franklin Avenue from late April through October.