These First Nations women teach people about natural medicines for healing

It's been more than 10 years since Cortney Bear first learned natural medicine teachings at a camp in Manitoba, doing her rites of passage.

She was taught which plants are medicines and how to use them in hopes that she would become a teacher herself or a helper.

Now she shares her knowledge in Regina on what traditional medicines to use when it comes to menstruation and pregnancy.

“With traditional medicines … it's a natural way to heal,” said Bear.

Bear, who is from Little Black Bear First Nation in Saskatchewan, said she offers teaching on how to pick and use medicines like sage, sweetgrass, yarrow, bergamot, hyssop, mint in a respectful manner using protocol.

“There are two medicines that I was taught that can help like with the cramping that some women suffer with and one of them is raspberry leaves,” said Bear.

Bear said she picks raspberry leaves and yarrow, dries them and then uses them as a tea for moon time. Bear said she used raspberry leaves with mint, as it was shared by her teachers, to help prepare herself for birth, as they found it helps soothe muscles.

Bear said she thinks it's important to show women where to pick and what to pick as medicines, so they learn how to prepare it for themselves and what the properties are.

Bear hopes young people have the opportunity to go through their rites of passage. Bear said part of that teaching is why menstruation is called moon time.

“The tipiskâwi-pîsim (the moon) watches over the waters and with women, when you think of it, when we give birth, what comes out when we give birth is water, so tipiskâwi-pîsim governs women and the waters,” said Bear.

“I want to keep learning from the grandmothers on how important and powerful women are during moon time and to respect our bodies and allow ourselves to rest during that time."

Elder Margaret Keewatin from Okanese First Nation first learned about traditional medicines from her grandparents when she was a girl.

The 85-year-old now works as an elder at the White Raven Healing Centre in Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask.

Keewatin said years ago during a shaking tent ceremony, the grandfathers told the attendees to go back to the medicines that they were given by the Creator.