Traditional Métis Medicines and Remedies – Todd Paquin

Source: https://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/00721.Medicines%20and%20Healing.pdf

Folk Medicine While the Canadian West and the North were still largely unsettled, the Métis took responsibility for their own health care and healing. Doctors were few and far between, thus people had to doctor themselves and procure their own medicines. Much of the information related to the medicinal qualities of plant and animal products was gleaned from First Nations kin who had treated and healed themselves since time immemorial prior to the arrival of Europeans. Oral accounts of folk medicine practices are many but, unfortunately, relate primarily to the past. Nearly every family had one member or a close friend who was knowledgeable about the curative powers of different plant and animal products. The storehouse of knowledge that people had of medicinal plants was large and extensive. Many older Métis remember women and girls going out to gather plants, roots, bark and leaves to make remedies for sick people in their communities. In the majority of cases, it was older women who were the herbalists and folk healers among the Métis. Many of these traditional medicines and remedies involved adding ingredients to boiling water or boiling ingredients together in water (infusions and decoctions) for sipping. Other therapies simply required the ailing person to chew, swallow, breathe in or rub on the medicine. These remedies were used to treat a variety of ailments, from open wounds to headaches and pneumonia. 

Roots, Leaves and Bark Roots, leaves and barks were the main plant portions gathered for their medicinal qualities. While unable to effectively heal people suffering from diseases originating from contact with European people, these traditional medicines were and are remarkably effective for health problems indigenous to North America. The following are but a handful of the plants used to bring relief from various maladies. Mint leaves, stems and roots were chewed or made into teas to relieve colds, stomach ailments, chest pains and headaches. Chokecherry bark and roots, when made into a tea1 , was effective in relieving sore throats, stomach pain and diarrhea. High bush cranberry bark tea was effective in relieving muscle cramps, particularly stomach and menstrual cramps, while inhaling the tea steam eases asthma. It also lessened pains associated with labour contractions because it is a uterine sedative. The juice from the chokecherry berries was also used as an antiseptic. A tea was made from algae to help relieve cold symptoms, and a tea made with muskeg tealeaves helped to break fever. Horsetail root could be made into a tea, which acted as a diuretic (which cleanses the urinary track) to eliminate sickness or as a medicine to correct menstrual irregularities. Sage could be made into a tea to help remedy constipation, menstrual irregularities and difficulty in childbirth, while its use in a steam vapour helped to relieve breathing problems.

Photo Source: https://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/00721.Medicines%20and%20Healing.pdf