Episode 22: Classroom Essentials: Return to First Medicines with the Indigenous Peoples Task Force

The Indigenous Peoples Task Force strengthens the wellness of Native communities in Minnesota using methods that are based in Indigenous values and ways of knowing. One important way they do this is by returning to first medicines and connecting people to Indigenous healing traditions that have been passed down through generations. In this episode, Odia and Allison sit down with Suzanne Nash (Bois Forte Ojibwe) and Nathan Berglund (Oglala Lakota, Northern Cheyenne) to talk about honoring tobacco as a sacred plant, the importance of smudging ceremonies and more.

Watch a tobacco tie demonstration on our YouTube channel.

Questions or comments? Email us at info@booksaregoodmedicine.com.

RESOURCES

• Indigenous Peoples Task Force website

• Ikidowin Peer Education Program and Youth Theater Acting Ensemble

• The Teaching Garden curriculum

• Twin Cities PBS Documentary: Reclaiming Sacred Tobacco in Minnesota's Indigenous Communities

• Books are Good Medicine Instagram

• Books are Good Medicine YouTube channel

• Books are Good Medicine website

BOOKS FROM THIS EPISODE

• “Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants” by Monique Gray Smith

• “Josie Dances” by Denise Lajimodiere

• “Siha Tooskin Knows the Offering of Tobacco” by Charlene Bearhead and Wilson Bearhead

• “The Adventures of Papa Lemon's Little Wanderers” book series by Lehman Riley

• “The Gift of Mnoomin” by Brittany Luby

• “The Water Walker” by Joanne Robertson

• “Three Feathers” by Richard Van Camp

• “We Are Water Protectors” by Carole Lindstrom