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Indigenous Elders Revive Centuries-Old Wisdom on Women's Health
17 Nov
Summary
- Cortney Bear learned traditional medicine teachings over 10 years ago
- She now shares knowledge on using plants like sage, sweetgrass, and raspberry leaves for menstruation and pregnancy
- Elder Margaret Keewatin learned from her grandparents and shares traditional remedies at a healing center
Over a decade ago, Cortney Bear from the Little Black Bear First Nation in Saskatchewan first learned traditional medicine teachings at a camp in Manitoba. Now, she is passing on this ancestral knowledge to women in Regina, showing them how to respectfully pick and use plants like sage, sweetgrass, yarrow, and raspberry leaves for menstruation and pregnancy.
Bear explains that traditional medicines offer a natural way to heal, and she is committed to teaching younger generations the importance of respecting their bodies and resting during "moon time," or menstruation. Meanwhile, 85-year-old Elder Margaret Keewatin from the Okanese First Nation has been sharing her own traditional medicine knowledge at the White Raven Healing Centre in Fort Qu'Appelle. Keewatin, who first learned from her grandparents as a girl, now guides people on using remedies like Thunderbird sage for headaches.
Both Bear and Keewatin are dedicated to preserving and reviving these centuries-old Indigenous healing practices, ensuring they are passed down to future generations of women in Saskatchewan.
