(Please use the search function to find Native American Herbal Remedies #1)

Diabetes

Wild Carrot – The Mohegans steeped the blossoms of this wild species in warm water when they were in full bloom and took the drink for diabetes.

Devil’ Club - The Indians of British Columbia utilized a tea of the root bark to offset the effects of diabetes.

Diarrhea

Blackcherry – A tea of blackberry roots was the most frequently used remedy for diarrhea among Indians of northern California.

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.

Digestive Disorders

Dandelion - A tea of the roots was drunk for heartburn by the Pillager Ojibwas. Mohegans drank a tea of the leaves for a tonic.

Yellow Root – A tea from the root was used by the Catawbas and the Cherokee as a stomach ache remedy.

Fevers

Dogwood – The Delaware Indians, who called the tree Hat-ta-wa-no-min-schi, boiled the inner bark in water, using the tea to reduce fevers.

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.

Headache

Pennyroyal - The Onondagas steeped pennyroyal leaves and drank the tea to cure headaches.

Heart and Circulatory Problems

Green Hellebore – The Cherokee used the green hellebore to relive body pains.

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.

Hemorrhoids

White Oak – The Menominee tribe treated piles by squirting an infusion of the scraped inner bark of oak into the rectum with a syringe made from an animal bladder and the hollow bone of a bird.

Inflammations and Swellings

Witch Hazel – The Menominees of Wisconsin boiled the leaves and rubbed the liquid on the legs of tribesmen who were participating in sporting games. A decoction of the boiled twigs was used to cure aching backs, while steam derived by placing the twigs in water with hot rocks was a favorite Potawatomi treatment for muscle aches.

Influenza

Native Hemlock – The Menominees prepared a tea if the inner bark and drank it to relieve cold symptoms. A similar tea was used by the Forest Potawatomis to induce sweating and relieve colds and feverish conditions.

Insect Bites and Stings

Fendler Bladderpod – The Navajos made a tea and used it to treat spider bites.

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.

Insect Repellents and Insecticides

Goldenseal – The Cherokee pounded the large rootstock with bear fat and smeared it on their bodies as an insect repellent. It was also used as a tonic, stimulant, and astringent.

Rheumatism

Pokeweed - Indians of Virginia drank a tea of the boiled berries to cure rheumatism. The dried root was also used to allay inflammation.

Bloodroot – A favorite rheumatism remedy among the Indians of the Mississippi region – the Rappahannocks of Virginia drank a tea of the root.

Sedatives

Wild Black Cherry – The Meskwaki tribe made a sedative tea of the root bark.

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.

Thrush

Geranium – The Cherokee boiled geranium root together with wild grape, and with the liquid, rinsed the mouths of children affected with thrush.

Persimmon - The Catawba stripped the bark from the tree and boiled it in water, using the resulting dark liquid as a mouth rinse.