Author Archive: Shoshone Food

wah·pee (Rocky Mountain Juniper (Tree Juniper, often called Cedar Tree))

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Names

Shoshone:
wah·pee

English: Rocky Mountain Juniper (Tree Juniper, often called Cedar Tree

Scientific: Juniperus scopulorum

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • Berries or branches any time of year

Primary Uses

  • Cedar-smudging; hung in teepee to keep bad spirits away
  • Spice for strong-tasting meat

Secondary Uses

  • Incense: From the bed in the branches or trunk, when cut and polished

Cautions

  • Prolonged use or use for chronic kidney infection or damage to kidneys

Active Principle(s)

  • Juniperin and volatile oils

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

Medicinal Uses:

  • Antibacterial: Leaf or berry tea topical. Berry (blue) internal for urinary infection.
  • Appetite Stimulant: 3-5 berries (blue phase)
  • Bleeding: Berry tea, topical and internal
  • Congestion: Branch and berry teta. Also inhale steam
  • Contraception: Berries (cones) chewed or drunk on tea
  • Cough: Tea made of branches
  • Diarrhea: Berry tea
  • Fever: Berry tea
  • Glomerulitis: Berry tea in moderation
  • Healing: Berry tea
  • Heart: Branch/berry teta
  • Hyperactivity: Berry tea
  • Infection: Tea UTI or topical
  • Intestinal Health: Berry tea digestive aid
  • Lungs: Berry tea
  • Mental Health: Branches used to balance emotional health
  • Pneumonia: Berry tea
  • Spiritual Healing: Branches spread on ground to keep away bad magic
  • Throat: Tea for sore throat

General Notes

  • Kidney Health
  • Contraception
  • Possible diabetes treatment

Process Prep

  • Green berries boiled 20 minutes for good shampoo w/ buckbrush
  • Blueberries chewed or in tea for cystitis or appetite stimulant
  • 13 to 5 berries 2x/day

wah·pee (Creeping Juniper)

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Names

Shoshone:
wah·pee

English: Creeping Juniper

Scientific: Juniperus communis

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • Time not specified
    • Grows under forest canopy, hence the name “creeping”. This is the juniper to collect green berries from

Primary Uses

  • Peptide enzymes- helps digest proteins
  • HCl production increases
  • Green: mash to put topical onto wound to kill bacteria
  • Blue: used to treat glomerulitis

Secondary Uses

  • Eat 3 or 4 blue berries before meal: or solvent for greens.
  • Green berries: boil
  • Ceremonially for purity and longevity

Cautions

  • Never take green berries internally! Harms kidneys:
    • Too many blueberries can cause abortion

Active Principle(s)

  • Juniperin and volatile oils (antiseptic in urine)

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

Processing prep

  • Use blueberries and pound them first. Then pound into the meat. Offsets strong flavor of mule deer or antelope.

Medicinal Uses

  • Antibacterial: Berry and leaf tea drunk for UTI and applied topically
  • Appetite Stimulation: Berries chewed to stimulate appetite
  • Contraception: Berries chewed
  • Glomerulitis: Kidney disinfectant
  • Healing: Berry tea healing to urinary tract
  • Infection: Tea, berry (blue phase), UTI
  • Kidney Nephritis: Blue phase of berry tea
  • Urinary Tract Infection: Leaf or berry tea

gahn (Bitterroot – “First-Root” )

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Names

Shoshone:
gahn

English: Bitterroot – “First-Root”

Scientific: Lewisia rediviva

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • The first harvested plant in spring where the leaves are presented long before the showy pink flowers.

Primary Uses

  • Use as thickener in soups from dried root

Secondary Uses

  • Heart medicine as gravy or tea
  • Blood purifier
  • Increase lactation

Cautions

  • None listed

Active Principle(s)

  • None listed

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

Processing Prep

  • Peel the red bark off the white roots. Dry then powder it. Use as thickener in soups.
  • Rehydrate dried roots and mash-up as a jelly-like thickener

Medicinal Uses

  • Healing: Root gravy healing to digestive tract
  • Heart: Root tea for heart trouble
  • Immune: Root gravy believed to strengthen the digestive system – where immunity begins
  • Itching: Root tea drunk
  • Intestinal Health: Functions as a prebiotic for healthy gut
  • Liver: Root tea to strengthen the liver
  • Lungs: Root tea for diaphragm health
  • Old People’s Medicine: Gravy improves digestion
  • Pneumonia: Root tea
  • Skin: Root tea blood purifies for skin eruptions

(Shooting Star)

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Names

Shoshone:
Unknown

English: Shooting Star

Scientific: Dodecathion sp

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • Not Specified

Primary Uses

  • Salad green or boil
    • sweet tasting

Secondary Uses

  • None listed

Cautions

  • None listed

Active Principle(s)

  • None listed

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

General Notes

  • Salad green or boil; is sweet

Process Prep

  • Pot herb

(Bee Balm)

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Names

Shoshone:
Unknown

English: Bee Balm

Scientific: Monarda fistulosa

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • Time not Specified
    • Only one species of Monarda, here in Wind River environs, versus 2 used medicinally in Eastern Wyoming

Primary Uses

  • Place wet leaves onto eyes to heal eye problems;
    • detached retina; cataracts –
  • Used for healing skin
  • Taken internally for upset stomach

Secondary Uses

  • Keep flies off meat or fish

Cautions

  • None listed

Active Principle(s)

  • Thymol (antiseptic)

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

Medicinal Uses

  • Abrasion: Leaves as a wound dressing
  • Allergy: Steam inhaled as a bronchodilator
  • Antibacterial: Leaf tea
  • Anti-inflammatory: Tea for fever, rubbed on rashes and sore eyes
  • Antiviral: tea for coughs, colds, flu
  • Anxiety: Tea is a treatment for insomnia and anxiety
  • Arthritis: Leaves rubbed on arthritic joints
  • Burns: Anti-inflammatory dressing for burns
  • Chest: Leaf and flower tea rubbed on upper body to reduce fever
  • Congestion: Flower and leaf tea
  • Cough: Leaf and flower tea
  • Eyes: Leaves as compress for sore eyes on any eye problem
  • Fever: Leaves and flowers in water internally and topically
  • Glomerulitis: Kidney tonic
  • Headache: Tea internally and rubbed on head
  • Healing: Wound dressing
  • Heart: Tea is considered heart healthy
  • Infection: Flowers and leaves in tea, topically or internally
  • Intestinal Health: Tea expels intestinal worms and parasites
  • Kidney Nephritis: Kidney tonic
  • Kidney Stones: Kidney tonic
  • Lungs: Tea is bronchodilator steam inhaled
  • Pain: Leaves and flowers rubbed on achy joints and toothaches
  • Pneumonia: Steamed leaves and flowers. Tea to reduce fever
  • Rash: Leaf infusion
  • Sleep: Leaf tea for insomnia
  • Stomach: Tea for upset stomach
  • Swelling: Wound dressing
  • Spiritual Health: Tea used at Sundance
  • Teeth: Leaves compress for toothache
  • Throat: Tea for sore throat, colds, coughs
  • Urinary Tract Infection: Tea
  • Vitamin C: Spice
  • Wounds: Dressing

Process Prep

  • Dried leaves and flowers as tea, pot herb, spice, or to keep flies off drying meat

hah·reen·ayn·gah (Yarrow “chipmunk tail”)

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Names

Shoshone:
hah·reen·ayn·gah

English: Yarrow “chipmunk tail”

Scientific: Achillea millifolium lanulosa

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • Not Specified

Primary Uses

  • Kills pathogenic bacteria
  • Slows blood flow, injuries. Adjusts blood to high altitude an “Arch-blood alternative” medicine

Secondary Uses

  • Yarrow tea – 1 cup from just 3-4 tiny flower heads

Cautions

  • None listed

Active Principle(s)

  • None listed

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

Medicinal Uses

  • Antibacterial: Tea of whole plant or topical
  • Anti-inflammatory: Leaf or flower tea
  • Antiviral: Tea stimulates immune response
  • Bleeding: Flowers and leaves are styptic
  • Burns: Upper parts of plant used as a wash
  • Cough: Flower tea
  • Diarrhea: Tea
  • Healing: Disinfectant, anti-inflammatory, pain killer
  • Infection: Flower or leaves for topical or internal (ulcers)
  • Itching: Flower infusion as was
  • Laxative: Flower tea
  • Menstruation: Reduces blood flow
  • Pain: Flower tea analgesic
  • Rash: Flowers and leaves applied to reduce pain

(Foothills Bluebells)

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Names

Shoshone:
Unknown

English: Foothills Bluebells

Scientific: Mertensia oblongifolia

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • Not Specified

Primary Uses

  • Leaves work as pre-biotic in gut lining: Leave contain gooey mucilage which speeds up healing process

Secondary Uses

  • Great salad green, “green bean flavor”

Cautions

  • Cautions

Active Principle(s)

  • Active principles

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

Process Preparation

  • Mash up the leaves till gooey: apply to wound; possibly make pine pitch bandages around this healing leaves sites.

Medicinal Use

  • Abrasion: Leaf poultice to speed healing
  • Anti-inflammatory: Topical leaf or, leaf tea
  • Burns: Soothing leaf poultice. Speeds up healing
  • Healing: Topical leaf poultice speeds healing
  • Pain: Mashed leaves soothing to wounds
  • Rash: Mashed leaves soothes rash

(Lodgepole Pine)

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Names

Shoshone:
Unknown

English: Lodgepole Pine

Scientific: Scientific name

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • Time not specified
    • South of Red Desert, Bighorn Mountains; “Laramie” range

Primary Uses

  • Make Teepees out of them

Secondary Uses

  • None listed

Cautions

  • None listed

Active Principle(s)

  • None listed

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

Medicinal Uses:

  • Congestion: Pitch swallowed
  • Fever: Tea of needles to reduce fever
  • Infection: Tea made of inner bark topical or internal
  • Pain: Needle tea for muscle pain/soreness
  • Urinary Tract Infection: Needle tea

(Ponderosa Pine)

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Names

Shoshone:
Unknown

English: Ponderosa Pine

Scientific: Scientific name

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • Time not specified
    • South of Red Desert; Bighorn mountains; “Laramie range”

Primary Uses

  • Pine nuts
  • Long needles used to make brooms and brushes

Secondary Uses

  • None listed

Cautions

  • None listed

Active Principle(s)

  • None listed

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

Medicinal Uses:

  • Cancer: Inner bark as a poultice
  • Congestion: Pitch swallowed
  • Fever: Tea of needles to reduce fever
  • Infection: Tea made of inner bark topical or internal
  • Pain: Needle tea for muscle/ soreness
  • Urinary Tract Infection: Needle tea

(Pinon Pine)

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Names

Shoshone:
Unknown

English: Pinon Pine

Scientific: Unknown

Zone

Upper Foothills

Harvest Time

  • South of Red Desert, Bighorn Mountains; “Laramie” Range

Primary Uses

  • Can gather pine nuts

Secondary Uses

  • None listed

Cautions

  • None listed

Active Principle(s)

  • None listed

Video Description of Plant

Click play on the video to learn more about this plant.

Notes

Medicinal Uses:

  • Congestion: Pitch swallowed
  • Fever: Tea of needles to reduce fever
  • Infection: Tea made of inner bark topical or internal
  • Pain: Needle tea for muscle pain/soreness
  • Urinary Tract Infection: Needle tea