Article

Indigenous Peoples' Medicine in Canada

Since time immemorial Indigenous peoples in Canada have been using plants and other natural materials as medicine. Plant medicines are used more frequently than those derived from animals. In all, Indigenous peoples have identified over 400 different species of plants (as well as lichens, fungi and algae) with medicinal applications. Medicine traditions — the plants used, the ailments treated, protocols for harvesting and application, and modes of preparation — are similar for Indigenous peoples across the country. In many Indigenous communities, there are recognized specialists trained in traditional medicine, and their practice often reflects spiritual aspects of healing as well as physical outcomes. In many cases, the therapeutic properties of Indigenous medicines are attributable to particular compounds and their effects on the body, but in other instances, their application is little understood by western medical practitioners. Within Indigenous communities, specific methods of harvesting and preparation of medicines are considered intellectual property of particular individuals or families.
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Further Reading

  • Nancy J. Turner, Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge (2014).

  • James A Duke, CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs (1985).

  • R. Frank Chandler, Lois Freeman and Shirley N. Hoope, “Herbal Remedies of the Maritime Indians,” Journal of Ethnopharmacology (1979).

  • John T. Arnason, Richard J. Hebda and Timothy Johns, “Use of Plants for Food and Medicine by Native Peoples of Eastern Canada,” Canadian Journal of Botany (1981).

  • Yadav Uprety, Hugo Asselin, Hugo Asselin and Nancy Julien, “Traditional use of medicinal plants in the boreal forest of Canada: Review and perspectives,”Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2012).

  • D. Moerman, Native American Ethnobotany: A Database of Foods, Drugs, Dyes and Fibers of Native American peoples Derived from Plants (2009).

  • J.H. MacDermot, “Food and Medicinal Plants Used by the Indians of British Columbia,” Canadian Medical Association Journal (1949).

  • Robin J. Marles, C. Clavelle, L. Monteleone, N. Tays and D. Burns, Aboriginal Plant Use in Canada’s Northwest Boreal Forest (2000).

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